Mandalay's Shwe Nandaw Monastery was at one time part of the Royal Palace of Mindon, the King of Burma from 1853-1878. It is famous for its intricate woodcarvings. The entire monastery was once gold plated, inside and out. Rather than try to show the entire façade of the palace itself, which would be little more than a postcard photograph, I bring the entire palace down to this single carving – a fascinating detail on one of the palace’s teak doors. The process of symbolizing a larger entity through one small detail is, in itself, an act of abstraction. Yet, so too is this photograph. I used my spot meter to expose for the most brilliant of the highlights falling on the door from the late afternoon sun. I let everything else go black. The figure, which appears to be in a fighting mood, has raised its arm as it peers into the blackness below. He seems to still be rallying Mindon’s armies long after they have passed into history. This carving is but a small detail of a larger door, which is, in turn, is only a small part of a large building. And now we look at the smallest of detail within that carving itself, trying to take ourselves back to another time and another place. What we are doing here, of course, is abstracting the abstraction, and trying in the process to get as close as we can to the essence of the place.