The want to belong

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Everyone has a sense of belongingness to the place s/he lives in, family and friends. But one remains in pain if s/he does not feel belonging to someone or somewhere.

This search of belongingness can be seen in the third solo painting exhibition ‘Inheriting Statelessness’ by artist Saroj Bajracharya. In the exhibition that started at Park Gallery, Pulchowk from September 21, the artist has portrayed his journey from sense of non-belongingness towards a sense of

belongingness.

His paintings are all figurative with symbolic meanings in them. The repetitive motifs like shankha (conch shell), moon, third eye of Lord Shiva denote knowledge, spirituality and realisation respectively. In some of the backgrounds of the paintings, one can see lines to create map and the paintings of map resemble the images taken from aerial view.

Mukesh Malla, artist/art writer at the exhibition shared, “His artworks tend to have a deep philosophic meaning — that knowledge comes from within after realisation — and it can be seen in these works.”

Meanwhile, talking about his works, the artist shared, “During my childhood days I chose to remain alone and I was not able to express myself. Being an introvert I didn’t like to play with friends. I felt I didn’t have my true expression and don’t belong anywhere.”

This psychological aspect of him and his search for belongingness for example can be seen in one of the series of three paintings.

In the first painting, an astronaut wearing a brick suit is trying to see a conch-shell, but “the truth is blocked by brick which reflects confusion and conch-shell means knowledge and truth” as per the artist. In the second one, the fire is flowing down from a tap instead of water — fire which as per the artist is his “self-realisation that every person belongs to the other”. And the flow of fire means “the pain caused because of not being able to know the truth that was just infront of me”. Likewise in the last one, the astronaut is looking in a mirror where his eyes are reflected and the brick-like suit doesn’t exist any more. “My search for belongingness has ended and I am able to see the truth,” he related of the third painting.

This psychological aspect and his search of belongingness are shown through his artwork where he has come to a point of belonging to his surroundings due to the realisation with time, as per Bajracharya.

The colours in his paintings like purple, blue, pink, orange, yellow and more are used in a subtle way in a flat background without any flashiness which as per Bajracharya reflect the expression that is calm, balanced and sober.

On the same day, artist Puran Khadka launched a book Future of History — penned by Bajracharya and Malla. The book has documented a collaborative art project conducted by Art’s Network Asia.

The exhibition is on till October 5.