A Federal life
Kurchi Das Gupta
As you walk into Yalamaya Kendra – the Rana period mansion in the middle of bustling Patan in Kathmandu – it recalls a slower time. In stark contrast are the photographs on the walls alongside the winding staircase that leads to the exhibition space upstairs – they document a workshop that addressed Nepal’s federalism issues through an outreach effort aimed at the Nepali youth, which was held in May. The project, titled A Federal Life, was orchestrated by the United Nations Development Programme and Kathmandu University under the aegis of its Chair of Painting and Design, Sujan Chitrakar.
Twenty-two artists – including ten women – were selected through an open selection process and representing a good cross-section of Nepal’s mind boggling ethnic diversity. Incidentally, the federal question has been haunting Nepal recently, as is evident in the Workshop Summary Report: ‘In 2008 Nepal became a Federal Democratic Republic per the interim constitution where the concept of federalism became the topic of debate throughout the nation. When myths and misconceptions surrounding the concept of federalism within the national context began to intensify, the impact resulted in the dissolution of the CA (Constituent Assembly) and brought the progress of the constitution building process to a grinding halt.’ As I write, Nepal is once again awaiting the elusive CA elections.
Four facilitators and two mentors helped the participants arrive at a realistic understanding of the issue while exploring the possibilities of contemporary art as a tool for meaningful civic education. Mentors including contemporary artist Ashmina Ranjit scrutinized the interconnections between gender identity and federalism while Krishna Khanal gave a comparative analysis of federalism worldwide and its fundamental relevance to constitution-building in Nepal. Two days of discussions and presentations was followed by a month-long period of guided introspection and, finally, actual, individual production.
The results were displayed at Yalamaya Kendra between 14 and 20 June. Massive acrylics on canvas were hung on the walls upstairs; the most poignant examples included Shraddha Shrestha’s Sheepgonda (all works 2013) and Suresh Maharjan’s Balance (2013). The first is a satirical comment on the Nepali people’s quandary over their country’s political seesawing, while Maharjan’s piece depicts a house of cards – a metaphor for how creating balance between diverse identities is essential for a functional federal structure. On a similar vein, Shreejana Shakya’s People of Kathmandu and their Voice (2013) is a tabular composition of stick figures that translates onto canvas the topical research she carried out among Kathmandu’s inhabitants. Shiv Prasda Upadhyaya’s paean to self-sufficiency, Self-Dependent (2013) is endearing for its nationalistic dream of the same. Muna Bhadel’s Crowd (2013) portrays a life-sized, bewildered young Nepali girl holding a local newspaper against a zoomed out crowd of black and white figures, in an exploration of public apathy towards – and individual bewilderment with – the nation’s political instability that also acted as metaphors for issues problematizing a federal structure.
Across the courtyard downstairs, Bidhata KC’s System Unfolds was a strong work that tangentially tackled the undercurrents of Nepal’s history and its many political eras through visual metaphors of wire, cigarette burns, flowers etc. Supriya Manandhar’s Emblem addressed the political through the indigenous game of ‘cat’s cradle’. She explained that she outlines a ‘rectangular framework often used when drawing a map of Nepal… the overall composition emulates the structure of the national coat of arms we have used throughout history. In essence, I’ve chosen to recreate an emblem for our new federal life.’ At the other end of the spectrum were works like Saran Tandukar’s stitched, fabric piece that looked very much like a cheerful reworking of a work by Paul Klee but managed to retain its relevance to through patchworking different materials of uniform dimension into a flat plane – no doubt a structural metaphor for a federal way of life. By adopting fabric and sewing, he also adds an interesting gender perspective.
As I found my way out through the shady cafeteria, I had to admit that ‘A Federal Life’ was an experience worth exploring and must surely have set a precedent for equally exciting and relevant projects for Nepal in future.
