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🇳🇵 Nepal /Culture & Society

Eleven artists explore belonging and change in Nepali art exhibition

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • Takpa Gallery showcases contemporary Nepali art from eleven emerging artists, exploring themes of memory, mythology, spirituality, cultural heritage, and identity.
  • Curator Roshan Bhandari expresses admiration for the artists' diverse mediums and storytelling, highlighting a universal sense of evolution through their work.
  • Several artists, like Anush Khaiju and Sonam Rai, use their art to reflect on societal changes, the fading of traditional communal experiences, and the search for belonging in a modernizing world.

Takpa Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition that highlights the vibrant contemporary art scene in Nepal, featuring the works of eleven emerging artists. The collection delves into profound themes such as memory, mythology, spirituality, cultural heritage, and identity, presented through a diverse range of artistic mediums.

I get jealous almost. Listening to their stories and observing their mediums, it feels as though there is so much I have missed. Being a curator amongst such promising artists helps me evolve.

— Roshan BhandariThe curator reflects on his experience working with the emerging artists featured in the exhibition.

Curator Roshan Bhandari shared his profound admiration for the artists, stating, “I get jealous almost. Listening to their stories and observing their mediums, it feels as though there is so much I have missed. Being a curator amongst such promising artists helps me evolve.” His sentiment underscores the exhibition's power to inspire and foster growth within the art community.

Among the featured artists, Anush Khaiju's series 'Same Space Fading Experience' uses watercolour and emboss techniques to juxtapose traditional Bhaktapur landmarks with modern emptiness. Khaiju employs sparrows as a metaphor for disappearing communal experiences, noting how people are now more connected to their phones or living abroad than to shared physical spaces.

Sparrows are known to spend their entire lifetime around one particular place. I painted them as a metaphor to represent the disappearing communal experiences. People rarely gather in one shared space today. They are either on their phones or abroad.

— Anush KhaijuThe artist explains the symbolism of sparrows in his artwork, representing lost communal connections.

Sonam Rai’s series 'Spirits of Hunters' draws from traditional hunting practices, depicting a personal search for safety and belonging. These artworks, alongside others in various mediums like woodcut prints and obvara ceramics, collectively pose a rhetorical question about societal evolution and the loss of intimacy as individuals navigate modern life and its pressures, which often erode traditional identity.

I was inspired by the thought of how beautiful communal exchanges used to be, which now are replaced by the feeling of detachment.

— Anush KhaijuKhaiju discusses his motivation for creating art that contrasts past communal interactions with present-day detachment.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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