XI. Imaginary
“Buildings from the Hidden Valley – This poetic but ambiguous phrase may well serve as motto for the following considerations, ambiguous because it summarizes the geographical context of most of his documentary drawings and paintings from behind the Himalayan ranges .Equally it captures his dream of ideal architecture and landscape in the Shangri-La of a hidden paradise, visions cherished long before he even went there.”
– Gotz Hagmuller, Fact and Fiction
Götz Hagmüller, the chief architect of the Patan museum, shared a notable anecdote from the 1995 exhibition of Powell’s Mustang paintings held in Patan. Visitors from Mustang who attended the exhibition asked Robert where they could locate certain structures they had seen in his work in their villages. Powell answered that some of the images in question existed only within his mind and “on paper”. Proof that Robert’s imaginary works could appear very real to even the people that inhabited the buildings and structures he painted.
