Indian Sculpture Park

At Victoria’s Way, Roundwood, Co Wicklow, Ireland

Links How to get there Ganesh Sculptures Forest Sculptures Email Irish Independent Feature Lots of personal detail For a savvy comment see: http://www.cackaloo.com/2008/02/11/

Open 7 days Opening Hours: May 1^st to August 31^st 12.30 p.m. to 18.00 p.m. Admission: Euro 2.50 per person (over 12) It takes about an hour to get around Bring warm clothes and watertight shoes Ganesh, The Problem Solver The Creation Gate The Indian Sculpture Park at Victoria’s Way in Roundwood, Co Wicklow extends over an area of some 22 acres. Victoria’s Way is a mini pilgrimage that guides the pilgrim from spiritual birth to decay. Passing through the Creation Gate, the pilgrim encounters 9 black granite carvings of the Hindu deity Ganesh, ‘Lord of Obstacles’. Ganesh helps the pilgrim reach the wellspring of his or her spiritual journey and return safely. Then the wanderer enters an enchanted forest where he or she happens upon 7 sculptures that symbolize the phases, indeed crossroads of the spiritual quest. They encourage the pilgrim to meditate upon his or here state and the way forward to the final goal, namely realization of the true self and ‘the honeyed feeling’ of rapturous joy. A magnificent 15ft bronze of ‘the future Buddha suppressing the urge to life’ represents the ascetic (or ‘wilderness’, or ‘Dark Night’) phase through which all pilgrims must pass. How it all started My name is Victor Langheld. In 1989 I had a dream, here in Roundwood. In it I saw a strange and wonderful sculpture park. The sculptures symbolized the stages of the pilgrimage from un-wholeness to wholeness, to awakening, enlightenment, fulfilment and the boundless happiness that is the reward for complete fulfilment. I sketched the dream images and took them to India. I knew India well for I had wandered about that strange and wonderful country for more than 30 years on my quest to unravel the enigma of the Divine urge to creation. In Mahabalipuram, near Madras in Southern India, I found 3 artisans willing to have a go at carving those strange dream images into black granite, or, where not possible, to create models that could be cast in bronze. It took 20 years for that dream to become reality. Now it’s done. So, if you’re up for it, why not come and wander about in my twilight zone … for an hour. Here you can enjoy some truly outstanding sculptures in the midst of beautiful and serene Co Wicklow countryside; or you can ponder your very personal quest for fulfilment and perhaps savour the joy that flows from the anticipation of its attainment.