Friday, June 1, 2012

Live and let live

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
KATHMANDU: Nature is the supreme manifestation of power that exists on earth and the Hindus regard natural resources like river, plants, Sun and more as various forms of divine gods and goddess. However, due to the selfish wants of human, the environment is degraded everyday creating an adverse effect on the natural surroundings and the human themselves.

Artist Ragini Upadhyay-Grela’s new exhibition ‘Nature Speaks’ delves into this very topic. The exhibition on at the Blue Note Cafe, Lazimpat began from May 19.

In ‘Tulsi in Modern Time’ piece, she has created a white background where the Tulsi is personified as a Hindu Goddess. Goddess Tulsi is coloured green dressed in a modern attire like jeans pants and a tee-shirt, with six hands and carrying six different items like mobile, leaf, flower, diyo, vessel and rock and sitting on a stand light brown and white in colour, which is usually used for keeping Tulsi for worshipping. In the piece, Grela has portrayed that Tulsi had medicinal values in ancient times and still has, hence the modern attire.

Grela shares, “Tulsi is known for its medicinal value from the ancient period and my Tulsi is wearing a modern dress to show the importance of its medicinal value even in the 21st century.”

The formation of structures while personifying the natural objects are interesting and can strike one’s mind and convince the viewer that nature needs protection. But her works also suggest that nature will find a way to continue, but humans may not.

The human touch given to the nature’s works with arms and legs look unusual but with Grela’s bent of artistic imagination they have an elegence of their own. One cannot help but appreciate the flow in the work.

Her works in this exhibition has nature’s motifs of basil plant, peepal tree, banyan tree, night jasmine, rivers and air all personified and symbolised like various deities like Vishnu, Krishna, Buddha, Kumari, and more. She has given modern attires to some of the personified forms of nature, whereas some female personifications are portrayed nude. According to Grela, all natural things are personified and attired in modern clothes as they are also seeking protection as humans who also wear clothes for protection.

Grela has used watercolour and acrylic on canvas where colours like green, blue, white, brown, red, yellow and more dominate her painting.

Ten per cent of the sales of her painting will be donated to the Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation.

The exhibition will continue till June 18.


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