Ehi passiko – come and see

Berlin & Sri Lanka, 2020 - ongoing

The Buddhist House in Frohnau is regarded as oldest Buddhist temple in Europe. People from all over the world come to visit for various reasons. The temple is open every day; everyone can come, just linger and dive into their religious beliefs; freely and easily, true to the motto: “Ehi passiko – come and see”. It is possible to spontaneously stop by or to even spend a few nights there. I have experienced the temple as a haven of tranquility, where various cultures, opinions and people come together. In my work, I contrast daily narration with spiritual still life.

Exhibition in the garden of the Buddhist house in Frohnau, 2021

After a group exhibition in the Guardini Gallery, I am now honored to present a larger selection of works in the Buddhist House, the place where my pictures were created. For over a year, I was able to experience the temple and capture visual impressions. The works can be seen in the garden of the Buddhist House.

The Buddhist House in Frohnau, Berlin, 2021

Bhante Dhamma Kusala is building his own temple in Sri Lanka, 2021

““Ehi passiko - come and see”, by Janick Entrement, is more than narration, it is an invitation to contemplation. This series with its slim portrait format photographs of spiritual still lives points far beyond the reflection of this one special place beyond the Buddhist house. Here we experience mindfulness and closeness to people, togetherness and silence and take time to pause.”

— Frizzi Krella (art historian and curator):

“As the oldest Buddhist temple in Europe, the Buddhist House in Berlin-Frohnau represents a spiritual place that is also open to Buddhist monks and lay people who travel from all over the world. For Janick Entremont, this combination of strictly religious rites and secular informality forms the core motif of his photographic series “Ehi passiko - come and see”. For him, seeing is a magical act that does not judge or value, but captures moments, gestures and objects of everyday togetherness in such a way that everything depicted retains space for individual interpretation. Still lives which remove ordinary objects from their functionality with narrow perspectives, stand in contrast to scenic shots, which, by emphasizing the physicality and the expressiveness of gestures, form a counterpoint to the spiritual. Here, photography is not understood as an analytically scientific medium that aims solely at the factual, but as a catalyst for an intensive dialogue between cultures and religions.”

— Wolfgang Zurborn (photographer, curator and Lichtblick School founder)