Intangible heritage
Nischal Oli
JUN 14 –
Each year since 2004, Sagar Manandhar has consecutively graced the walls of various galleries in Nepal and at his alma mater Banaras Hindu University. His prolificacy has been further driven home through Utsav, a behemoth collection of paintings currently on display—the young artist’s 11th solo exhibition—that celebrates Nepal’s intangible heritage and the artist’s own unbound versatility and productivity.
Last year, Manandhar’s Tatva was exhibited at the Nepal Art Council. The series focused on the primary elements that comprise life. Explored through rich colours and their respective lyrical activity, the exhibition came about while Manandhar prepared for his current series. Utsav, thus, surmounts his previous efforts, delving into a similarly encompassing world of festivals, by introducing stronger representational techniques—a novel addition to his unique style.
“Nepal is an enigmatic multidimensional country with magical and unfathomable diversity of cultures and religions,” states the artist, adding that it was his fascination with the “aesthetical sensibilities and creative impulses of people” that helped inspire the new series. The exchange engendered by such occasions and opportunity to come together presented the joyous force which guides the feel of the series. Manandhar had prepared for two years for Utsav, proactively seeking out roles in different festivals. “There are different levels of involvement. To prepare myself for Utsav, I decided to get in, even pulled chariots,” recounts the artist, who had never indulged to such an extent.
Manandhar’s refined approach is foremost visible in his choice of colours. Strong palettes interchangeably capture moods, time and spatial configuration. Hues of blue are both used to denote natural elements such as water (in reference to the Machchendranath festival) or paired with black to signify night-time celebrations, particularly of the Ghatemangal Jatra. Red and black blocks denote the Dashain tikas and hints of colours over darker landscapes become presiding lights common to many celebrations.
Exacting these details, Manandhar stays spontaneous by layering his paintings with cultural motifs and the most integral ingredient of festivities—people (although strictly decorated in abstract forms). It is here at the junction of colours and motifs, where Manandhar’s abstract expressions collude with the living to divulge enormous depth.
Man-made structures, symbols and cultures compliment the already enthralling colour-fields—the artist is so apt at mapping. Structures are stripped down to their geometric shapes and blended to horizontal planes. Temples, chariots and houses are drawn in triangular formations, while rotund structures such as chariots wheels and umbrellas are circular. Over blocks of colours, these motifs are then connected with linear scribbles where the artist insidiously imbues allusions to different festivals.
Agni chakchuu for Indrajatra, mandalas for Bhaitika or umbrellas for Gaijatra all are spontaneously arranged around the structures and further fenced by crosshairs. Every single painting absorbs at least a few aspects from different festivals celebrated in Nepal. Circumscribing the cultural motifs, fine lines illustrate patterns of participation and relationships; representing people who direct these experiences. “Emotions of people are represented rather than their figurative essence,” expounds Manandhar, adding, “feelings of unity, their attachment to these motifs” are essential to the idea of festivities. Some paintings in the series even evoke imageries of processions through definite paths opened up by these lines, while in most they tend to supplement the author’s appreciation for what he calls the “tangential aura and exuberance” imparted by the celebrators—something that bolsters communal sentiments.
Personally, Manandhar believes the waning patience of Nepalis for their own cultural heritage needs to be curbed. He does not necessarily see the lack of direct rendering taking this message away from the series. Manandhar asserts that “there is an artist in each one of us, the question is how much of it one is willing to bring out…even just the colours paraded on festive occasions suffice to become a performance.” The artist is confident that as long as viewers are aware and assured that nothing foreign to festivals has been presented, their interpretation of the ‘new product’ is simply instigated by his own respect and admiration of these defining moments in our calendars.
Overall, for followers of Manandhar’s art, Utsav is pristine and true to his past incarnations. Details that have been introduced in the series have evolved along the way and serve to advance his thoughtful presentation. Down the road, the artist too thinks monotony might encumber his style but like his repetitive participation in the annual festivities, he hopes to come at it with ‘different motivations’ each time.
