"Garden of the Gods"
An Art Installation by Dimitri Alithinos

On June 30, 2003, Dimitri Alithinos, with a team of landscapers and volunteers, created a new work of art at the Center for the Study of World Religions. View a photo gallery of the work.

The permanent installation, titled "Garden of the Gods," is the 112th "concealment" in a series Alithinos began in 1981. Each concealment inters texts and other objects in a chosen site as an act of memory grounded in the creative agency of the present. For the CSWR courtyard, Alithinos chose to inter objects symbolizing diverse religions and civilizations living together in harmony and peace.

To create the concealment, landscapers dug shapes of capital letters that represented the initials of the names of gods worshiped in different religions and traditions. Inside those cavities, resting on silver letters, Alithinos placed dishes with various kinds of offerings—some donated by CSWR fellows, staff, and friends—dedicated to the deities. Landscapers then replaced the sod, concealing the offerings and letters, which now lie invisible beneath the surface.

"Garden of the Gods" includes representations of the following deities and traditions:

  • Namrung - Shamanism (Nepal)
  • Dan - Vodun (Benin)
  • Kali - Hinduism
  • Zeus - ancient Greek religion
  • Allah - Islam
  • Oniyame - African religions (Ghana)
  • The Unknown God, represented by the infinity symbol
  • Buddha - Buddhism
  • Make-Make - ancient Easter Island religion
  • Shonkwaia'tison - Iroquois (Haudenosaunne), Native American
  • Yahweh - Judaism and Christianity

Dimitri Alithinos was in residence at the CSWR during the spring and early summer of 2003. He has created concealments in locations ranging across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, from Borobudur to the Great Wall of China. 

"Garden of the Gods" was commissioned to commemorate Lawrence Sullivan's 13-year term as director of the CSWR.

Credits:

  • Landscapers: New World Landscaping and Design (Elizabeth Ludvik, David McCoy, and Susan Abraham)
  • Assistants: Amelia Perkins and Sharon Kivenko
  • Photographers: Melanie Bunger, Merav Carmeli, Diana Riboli, and Rebecca Esterson
  • Special thanks to: Alison Edwards, Mark Edington, Carolyn MacLeod, and the CSWR fellows who participated.