In Nepal, After Revolt, ‘Art Was Changed Forever’
The sea-green mural at Lasanaa, an arts center here, has familiar elements of Nepali art: images of snowy Himalayan peaks and curlycue whorls representing wind in Buddhist thangka tapestries.
But it is the unconventional images that reflect the anxieties of a country in painful flux. A floating fuel tank and a gas pump symbolize Nepal’s chronic fuel shortages. A retreating bus in the mural is a sajha, a cheap, popular mode of public transportation here that is now defunct in the wake of government instability. Tucked inside an urn is a visa — coveted by many who seek opportunities overseas.
The sea-green mural at Lasanaa, an arts center here, has familiar elements of Nepali art: images of snowy Himalayan peaks and curlycue whorls representing wind in Buddhist thangka tapestries.
But it is the unconventional images that reflect the anxieties of a country in painful flux. A floating fuel tank and a gas pump symbolize Nepal’s chronic fuel shortages. A retreating bus in the mural is a sajha, a cheap, popular mode of public transportation here that is now defunct in the wake of government instability. Tucked inside an urn is a visa — coveted by many who seek opportunities overseas.
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