Press Release
For the fifth High Line Plinth, Tuan Andrew Nguyen presents The Light That Shines Through the Universe, a monument to cultural loss and enduring spirit. This towering, 27-foot sandstone sculpture pays homage to the Bamiyan Buddhas, two 6th-century colossal statues in central Afghanistan that were tragically destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 in an act of iconoclasm. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, all that is left are two empty niches carved out of the mountain where the statues once stood. Prior to their destruction, the Bamiyan Buddhas held deep cultural significance in a region that was home to various religions including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, even as Afghanistan shifted primarily to Islam between the 7th and 10th century CE. The two monumental statues represented a blending of cultures and the lasting impact of the Silk Road economy, as the valley served as an influential meeting point in Central Asia, at the intersection of trade routes from China, India, and Persia.
