Transparent Barrier by Liu Yang from china

This project is built for a chinese female Buddhist who committed suicide after long suffered from depression. She had problem expressing her feelings. Communication barrier was a huge gap between her and this world. This barrier was not seen, but felt.

In Buddhism, the suicides cannot return to Samsara. We hope to bless the soul of the deceased through the Rebirth in Pureland Mantra and may her rest in peace.

This is an accessible memorial. The glass enclosure carving with Rebirth in Pureland Mantra provides a unique private space for her family to mourn their loss. We try to break the barrier of communication between the deceased and her family by entering the enclosure.

Our design was inspired by a Chinese folk story, “ The Butterfly Lovers”. In the story, the lovers couldn’t be together when they were both alive. After the boy passed away, the girl descended in bitter despair and begged for the grave to open. Suddenly, the grave opened with a clap of thunder. She threw herself into the grave. Their souls turned into a pair of beautiful butterflies and emerged from the grave.