“Disasters invariably challenge notions of permanence.”
In his work, Kabi Raj Lama has been documenting the fall out from the 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal, through architectural artefacts and cultural objects. Heirlooms of age and devotion serve as motifs that evoke stability, in an anthropic sense, seeming to transcend the lives of their creators. Lama underlines that their apparent timeless cultural value, inherent in the often intricate and strenuous handiwork needed to create them, can still be unsettled by disasters, even if just to their form.
“The process of recreating cultural images in hyperreal prints is slow yet meditative.” Lama considers this process to be both an homage to the creators of the objects and also a lead-in to the universals underpinning life. Geometry and repetition here become tools of sustained cultural expression, seen also in the tools used to mend following the earthquake.
Kabi Raj Lama’s work reflects and explores his own experiences with the complexities and trauma of natural disasters. He is currently based in Kathmandu, where he also teaches printmaking.
Polyphony of Emotions(II)
Relief
2020
Memories are still fresh
Intaglio
2019
Designed & Developed by: Curves n' Colors | Visual identity by: Wkshps
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