Filmed, Edited and directed by David Bickerstaff

Double Screen HD video | 16:9 | 9 min 25 sec

In the 17th century Tibet's Fifth Dalai Lama envisioned a small temple on an island behind the Potala palace in the city of Lhasa dedicated to the elemental spirits of earth and water, which Tibetans call Lu. In Tibetan mythology these serpent-like beings are the guardians of both worldly and spiritual treasures. The top floor of the little known Lukhang temple enshrines a series of rare murals, once described by the present Dalai Lama as jewels of Tibetan civilization.

Using only small, hand-held cameras, ‘The Lukhang’ is a short visual essay that travels from the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism on the banks of the Yarlung Zangbo river, to the streets of Lhasa and the towering Potala Palace in search of the Lukhang temple and its watery domain.