KATHMANDU: A painting of a tree is hung inside the hall, another one is of an apple tree with a coiled snake, and there is Newton sitting under the tree while an apple is falling reminding you of the universal law of gravitation. At a glance, one gets attracted to the play of colours but as one starts looking deeper one fathoms the significance. Oxygen cylinder replacing the trees, butterflies dying while understanding the tree of knowledge with the reference from Bible and ‘Lucifer’ give an insight of how trees have been an important aspect in the human world.

Such trees are an attraction in the group art exhibition ‘We Will Rise’ as they depict the inability of humans to earn money in his/her own country and opt to go abroad.

Then there is an interesting depiction of Radha and Krishna sitting under a tree which bears lotus flowers. Lotus blooms in murky water, but the love of the eternal couple makes impossible seem possible.

“I have tried to show how important a tree is in human life as they give us oxygen, they were the source of knowledge. And I have also shown a Nepali proverb paisa rukhma faldaina (money doesn’t bloom on tree),” shared artist Jaya Sharma.

This is a joint effort of 19 Master’s level students from Lalit Kala Campus and their artworks are being exhibited in the second floor of Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal. The exhibition has varieties of paintings — acrylic on canvas, acrylic on paper, oil on canvas, digital on paper, and digital on canvas among others.

Collapsing Dharahara, flying birds, foetus in different stages inside a mother’s womb grab one’s attention. The life is transitory and this is depicted in the painting ‘Manchhe Ko Jeevan, Karkala ko Pani’. It shows cupped hands tied with stems collecting water dripping from taro’s leaf. The subjects students have chosen are varied — some reflect the adversity due to smoking, some have portrayed garbage problems, some have painted nature’s beauty among others. The only way to witness their creativity is being present at

the exhibition.

The exhibition , that started on December 30, 2015, is on till January 3.