Experience, feeling, communication, sight and environment force people to think in a different way. Although such scenarios do not affect ordinary people so deeply, artists are more sensitive. Their ideas and presentation have the ability to shake the whole world.
In the year 2007, Artist Bidhata KC embarked on a journey to Manaslu Trek. During this trekking, many new visions and ideas sprouted in her mind. That creation could not be presented realistically. She collected those thoughts, feelings and thoughts. In 2009, a curator had to present a South Asian artist in Venice. That information reached the artists and curators. She wrote her idea of ‘object in focus’ and sent it to the curators. The curator liked her concept, but the curator had the problem of how to take the material from Nepal and how to make it. The work was exhibited in Venice in 2009 after the curator without seeing or meeting the artist, materialized her thoughts by using the used and discarded objects there. The exhibition was a huge success.
Also, in the context of a Nepali artist, it could be considered as a great opportunity to exhibit art abroad, that too in Venice. Be it an installation art or a painting, artists KC believes that the people of Nepal should also witness her artworks here. Thus she always thought of the way of showcasing her artworks.
Only after about 13 years, the curator and director of Taragaon Museum, Roshan Mishra asked her about the work on Object in Focus series. She explained the concept of art and only after a year it could materialize for the general public.
‘Let’s display the work kept in Venice in Taragaon.’ Since that proposal came, the artist started looking for the materials she needed. She thought of using the empty tin pots as a material for showcasing her work. It took about a year to collect all the materials and on February 5th, 2023, the installation art made with the artist’s concept was installed in Taragaon and for the next 10 days it will be public for the audiences.
When asked about the relevance of her work in the contemporary time, the artist replies, – ‘Everery materials we use are being thrown away after it’s finished. It could be re-used in many ways rather than throwing it away.’ In 2007, I wanted to present the concept in Nepal itself. Ultimately, I am able to present this work at Taragoan Musuem,’ says the artist K.C.
The ‘mane’ placed in Buddhist monasteries or stupas is called the wheel of life ( Bhavachakra). It is a symbolic representation of the cycle of existence that Buddhists believe. Buddhists believe in the continuous cycle of birth, life, and death. While she was traveling in the Himalayan region, this idea gave her so much joy. This also teaches and encourages people there to live a happy life. In order to live, we need food, and it is produced somewhere else. Wherever the food came from, it has also some life of its own and has its own power like those ‘Mane’ placed in the mountains or kept in Buddhist monasteries also awaken the same power.
The artist becomes more meditative and asks, -‘What kind of thoughts come to mind while walking towards the mountains ? Sometimes there is joy and yet sometimes a tension. But whenever I saw the mane there, I used to spin the wheel because of belief. I am sure that the belief or the feelings arise in my mind to soothe myself.’ When the necessity of the object get over, just like an empty tin that contained it the food before, it is thrown away. When we consider prayer wheel with the object, both has the same size and shapes. Only the meaning of the object has changed. One could heal you psychologically and yet another is just a useless piece. As an artist, I thought of transforming the useless object into the art-piece.
This way, the very existence of an object is changing. A food container is thrown away after the food is finished. After that, it becomes a means of connecting to God at that height. Eating food in a tin box used to make people satisfy their hunger. That vessel became empty and became mane. Now it brings people’s faith, belief and feelings to another level. When that pot becomes a ‘mane’, the audience see it as a means of encountering God. Objects are being used in different ways at one place. Now our cultural values have changed according to time, but faith is the same as it was in ancient times. Tin is a modern item. It can be said that it is changing in the cultural aspect by replacing it as Mane. ‘People themselves are changing according to time, so shouldn’t our cultural aspects also change according to time? ‘ questions the artists.
The artists further says, ‘ if our cultural values are not made contemporary, our cultural subjects will disappear over time. Our culture helps to make our identity. Whether you talk about eating rituals, singing, dancing or any festival or festival. Every subject is changing according to time.
The knowledge of nothingness is the attainment of enlightenment. Hence the title of this installation art was ‘Object in focus’.The artist has applied a silver color on this replacement art. She has placed 21 tin cans in a 6×6 diameter cans like a ‘mane’. There is a pillar in between that maintains the distance from the ground to the top. Here she kept a diameter of 6 x 6. There are 21 cans placed there.
The artist feels that her core feelings and emotions are attached in her installation art. This time in the sixth series of ‘Object in Focus’ in Taragaon, the work of artist K.C. has been supported by the Contemporary Art of Nepal Foundation and Taragaon itself. Deepak Lama worked as a product mentor to make the concept a reality. He runs an organization called Agar Kala Ghar. Deepak has the ability to materialize the ideas better by combining iron and steel cans, he managed to produce the same work as I thought – says Bidhata.
When asked about the whereabouts of this installation after the exhibition gets over, she replies – ‘Taragaon has also thought about where to put this work after the exhibition. If someone wants to take this work, they can also talk to Taragaon or the artist. The organizer can negotiate with the artist on how to place or send this work. She is also active in performance art. She also performed solo in Korea in 2007, in Yalamayan Center in 2008, and in Venice in 2009. She has also created alternative art using locally available materials. She has worked in many projects. Sometimes she works in sculpture, sometimes in printmaking, sometimes in substitution and sometimes in painting. Most of her works are based on concepts. Machindranath’s work was done in 2017 was also based on the concept. But concepts come out because of emotions. The role played by mane made of tin for the creation of human existence can help in the development of human civilization.
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