Art under attack
Anup Ojha
SEP 14 – Artist Manish Harijan recently made the front page of many dailies in the country for the controversy stirred up by his collection The Rise of the Collateral. Featuring images of Eastern religious icons interspersed with those of Western superheroes, Harijan’s paintings came under attack when members of the World Hindu Federation (WHF) condemned the artist’s ‘outrageous portrayal’ of Hindu figures, even issuing him a death threat. Harijan’s solo exhibition had been on display at the Siddhartha Art Gallery in Baber Mahal since August 22, but it wasn’t until September 11 that the WHF members, allegedly led by Hem Bahadur Karki, an executive board member of the federation and former colonel in the Nepal Army, arrived on the scene.
A case was also filed at the District Administration Office by one Sindhu Pathak whose details are unknown, accusing Harijan of blasphemy, and the DAO complied by releasing a written statement deeming the paintings religiously insensitive, eventually ordering that the gallery be padlocked on Thursday. Incensed by this, artists and other members of the public held a protest in front of the DAO, which led to talks between the chief district officer, the artist and the gallery owner, and the gallery was reopened. “The solidarity shown by artists was exceptional,” says Sangeeta Thapa, art curator at the gallery. “We were very much concerned for Manish’s safety. He has done nothing wrong; his work is neither anti-national nor is it anti-religious.”
Sujan Chitrakar, an associate professor at the Centre for Art and Design at Kathmandu University, was part of the protesting masses, and expressed his
dissatisfaction over what had happened to Harijan. “Instead of taking a work of art and dissecting it for intellectual debate like a civilised society should do, these fundamentalists have turned barbaric,” he said. “An artist has the right to put forth his personal views. Besides the fact that this is a gross violation of the freedom of expression, Manish’s work has been misinterpreted to mean something he didn’t intend it to.” But Chitrakar adds that the attention the incident has brought upon the art scene in Nepal, and the restrictions suffered by artists here, is ultimately a good thing. “The very fact that this has happened will encourage newer generations of artists to be more outspoken with their opinions.”
Harijan is the youngest son in a family of eight siblings, born to a poor family in a marginalised community in Narayansthan VDC, Baglung. He was brought up by his eldest sister, and finished his schooling from a local school—Janata Dhan Higher Secondary—in 2005. He had then come to Kathmandu and enrolled in the Lalit Kala fine arts college, and after two years there, had joined Kathmandu University on a scholarship. A major role in shaping Harijan’s artistic career was played by British couple—Nick and Marie Cragg—who funded his education post-SLC. And since then, the artist has held numerous exhibitions, even receiving several awards for his work.
Could you describe the September 11 incident?
It was around 2 pm and I was on the third floor of the gallery, chatting with a senior artist—Jupiter Pradhan—when suddenly, a group of heavily-built men along with Karki came up to me and asked if I was the artist. I nodded my head, and they began abusing me verbally, even posing to physically attack me. If I had been alone, they probably would’ve done much worse. And that’s when they made the death threat.
How has your family reacted to the news?
My brothers are working in the Gulf, so they still don’t know, and my sisters still live in the village, so it took some time for them to hear about it. As soon as they did, I got a call from my eldest didi, and she was very worried something would happen to me. She told me over and over again to be careful.
What is your own perception of what occurred that day ?
People kept accusing me of the most ridiculous things—that I was an anti-national, that I was being paid by foreign parties to make these paintings—none of it is true. Everything I put on the canvas comes from my own thoughts, and because I’m not a religiously insensitive person, it surprises me that people could interpret my work in that way.
Can you tell us what the inspiration was behind that particular theme?
The gods have a massive influence in one’s day-to-day life in Nepal; for instance, wherever you go in the city, you’re bound to run into an idol or a temple. As for superheroes, these images have become so popular in the West that they’ve acquired mythic status. And we’ve seen a growing attachment to these western images in our part of the world in recent years too. All I wanted to do was attempt a fusion between these two aspects—gods and heroes—both of which, in their own ways, are understood to rescues and serve humanity. The Rise of the Collateral is about juxtaposing two different cultures together for impact, not about offending either.
What has the aftermath been like?
It’s certainly distressing to have your work be condemned in that manner, and of course, I did fear for my safety, especially after the death threat. For now, I’d just like to isolate myself for a little while until I can get my bearings back. Hopefully, those who accused me of mocking our culture and religious icons will understand by then that that was never my intention at all, and things will return to normal.
