Culture & Lifestyle
Pockets of memories in objects
In his short exhibition, Narayan Bohaju captures mundane memories and reflection of the present.Srizu Bajracharya
The stretch from Ratnapark to Thamel is jam-packed with vehicles. A man on a motorcycle stretches on his toe to assess what is holding up the traffic, but the vehicles are plying one after another as far as he can see. It is indeed bemusing how quickly Kathmandu has gone back to its routine after Tihar—the crowd and chaos spilling from the city streets. And the only ones who seemed unbothered were pigeons; they seem to be idly enjoying the chaos from atop the ravelled electric wires that veins through Kathmandu.
Filled with confused tourists scattered all over the area, Thamel was even more difficult to navigate. On the way to Dalai-la Art Space for 'Beyond the Object' exhibition, the traces of this year's Tihar-end was still evident through broken and burnt earthen clay butter pots dispersed carelessly by the side of the road and faded imprints of footsteps, made as an invitation to goddess Laxmi, during the festival.
Drenched in the sullen mood of the end of holidays, Dalai-la Art Space, a small gallery inside the Dalai-la Boutique Hotel, will immediately speak to its visitors—of things that are exactly transpiring outside its doors.
Narayan Bohaju's artworks in the exhibition showcase things that one can say, are a backdrop of Kathmandu in its raw form. They are objects and scenes that we have seen in public places so frequently that it no longer registers to us as anything out of ordinary, but not for the artist. Bohaju has captured in his paintings, our very own collective experiences as a part of this ever-growing yet ever-condensing city.
A quick example that defines this description is his painting titled 'Heads', which shows bodiless helmets arranged in a messy alignment. Even without comprehensive details, it immediately suggests the wait in the traffic. Another painting that is titled 'Daily Routes' replicates the stack of bikes in parking lots.
Bohaju's 'Beyond the Object' is very short, with just eight paintings lined up one after another. But each one of them feels like a gentle caress on the onlookers’ shoulders that whispers, “I feel you”. It's a very concise exhibition in a small space, one that you can cover in a straight L walk. But the paintings are enthralling, and perhaps even more because the reality it captures is familiar to the backdrop we live in. You can feel sound enwrapped in the canvases as you look at them.
Bohaju's artworks are mostly of objects that evoke our memories, which is the reason visitors will find themselves wanting to inspect the artworks closely and meticulously. Often when we look through our memories, we paint little impressions of life in our heads, as we begin to mull on our thoughts. His paintings are just that—forgotten settings that we look at insignificantly, and yet these are the details that make our memories even more persuasive and pervasive.
His another painting titled 'After Celebration' shows a canvas full of used, cluttered tiny palchhas (earthen clay butter pots). Most of which are broken, as though smashed under people's feet, some even look burnt. Of the series, this painting feels more poignant, as it shows the impermanence of everything around us—belongings, emotions, and even life.
The broken earthen lights—both on the canvas and on the streets—is a telling metaphor of things losing its value overnight. And to the artist’s credit, his artworks provide a philosophical grasp to the things that are too easy to forget.
But there are paintings that you have seen before, as almost every contemporary artist feels the urge to replicate this reality of Kathmandu: dangling electric wires. They are everywhere, and it is hard to miss. And over the years, this has become a narrative of Kathmandu—chaotic and disturbing.
"Objects are inseparable from life, and they tell different stories. The wires tell how we live in a ganjagol (messy) situation, and for many artists, this is a narrative they want to capture,” says Bohaju.
He says he has always found himself drawn to objects. For him, these objects are a pothole to memories. And often the objects that he paints are those that are unnoticed by people, they are things that are part of the everyday mundane but still somehow a forgotten piece of reality.
The eight paintings are fragments of Bohaju's memories and a testament to how Bohaju as an artist looks at life. The colours he uses are ordinary, they are light and dull—just like the dominant tones of the city. The setup of the narrow art space also works to the artwork’s benefit because of his intimate theme, 'Beyond the Object', as the humdrum of Thamel perfectly blends in with his paintings and will not perturb onlookers.
The paintings are simple and yet complicated because they echo a sense of abandonment and loneliness. They wrap you in a lost nostalgia and make you feel that we are chasing life as life just happens to pass us by.
Visitors will undoubtedly leave the artspace with the strands of their own memories. However, these paintings may only be endearing to those who relish this type of nostalgia, or have similar experiences of that of the artist. But it is definitely for those who like dwelling in memories.
'Beyond the Object' will be on display until November 28 at Dalai-La Art Space, Dalai-La Boutique Hotel, Thamel.