Zayasaikhan Sambuu, 1975 | Magic Realism painter

Mongolian painter Zayasaikhan Sambuu, also known as Zaya was born in an isolated village in the Gobi Desert.

At fifteen he decided to become a Buddhist monk but the strict rules of the monastery were at odds with his irrepressible creativity.

By the time he was a teenager, communist Mongolia was becoming less oppressive, and freedom of religion returning.