The Inaugural National Pavilion of Nepal at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
Curated by Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung, Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La will feature the work of artist Tsherin Sherpa.
For the Biennale Arte 2022, Sherpa will collaborate with artists across the country to draw upon materials from a shared history and incorporate accounts encoded in oral cultures, woven languages, and quotidian rituals to implicate an intersectional and intertwined past that problematizes contradictory conceptualizations of Nepal as well as the broader Himalayan region.
The highlands of Asia have always emanated a sense of mystique, sacredness, and remoteness. However, fluidity, mobility, and an exchange of knowledge have flourished between communities for centuries. Often these complexities get obfuscated through a “Shangri-La” effect, which persists in popular imaginations. This fetishization triggers paradoxical representations of Himalayan communities as primitive, yet wise; lacking historical accounts, yet rich in spiritual wisdom; sturdy physically, yet bereft materially.
The Inaugural National Pavilion of Nepal at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
Curated by Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung, Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La will feature the work of artist Tsherin Sherpa.
Sherpa will collaborate with artists across Nepal to draw upon materials from a shared history and incorporate accounts encoded in oral cultures, woven languages, and quotidian rituals to implicate an intersectional and intertwined past that problematises contradictory conceptualisations of Nepal as well as the broader Himalayan region.
The highlands of Asia have always emanated a sense of mystique, sacredness, and remoteness. However, fluidity, mobility, and an exchange of knowledge have flourished between communities for centuries. Often these complexities get obfuscated through a “Shangri-La” effect, which persists in popular imaginations. This fetishisation triggers paradoxical representations of Himalayan communities as primitive, yet wise; lacking historical accounts, yet rich in spiritual wisdom; sturdy physically, yet bereft materially.
Tsherin Sherpa, Muted Expressions, 2022;
Bronze; 214 x 68.5 x 61 cm (84 x 27 x 24 in);
In collaboration with Bijay Maharjan and Regal Studio;
Metal casting team: Durga Shrestha, Ramesh Shrestha,
Sajal Siwakoti, and Sangita Maharjan;
Photo by Chhiring Dorje Gurung.
The Artist
Tsherin Sherpa was born in Kathmandu in 1968, where he currently resides. He was trained in thangka painting by his father Master Urgen Dorje, eventually drawing on this vocabulary to create artworks that incorporate Buddhist iconography and pop culture references. His works offer an interplay and tension between sacred/secular, traditional/contemporary, settlement/movement. Sherpa’s practice stems from his personal experiences within the Himalayan Diaspora as well as the nomadic history of Himalayan peoples. His experimentations with visual languages adapt, reimagine, and reappropriate identities, symbols, colors, and gestures to surpass their chronological and cultural constrictions.
He has been a part of Yokohama Triennale (2020); Yinchuan Biennale (2018); Kathmandu Triennale (2017); Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane (2015-16); and Dhaka Art Summit (2014). Sherpa has also exhibited at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (2019); Rubin Museum of Art (2019); Asian Art Museum,San Francisco (2019); Weltmuseum Wien (2019); Kunstmuseum Bochum (2018); Berkeley Art Museum (2018). His works are in the collections of Victoria & Albert Museum; Rubin Museum of Art; Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and World Museum, Liverpool. In 2018 he undertook a residency at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford; and in February 2022 the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will present his first museum retrospective. Sherpa is represented by Rossi & Rossi.
The Artist
Tsherin Sherpa was born in Kathmandu in 1968, where he currently resides. He was trained in thangka painting by his father Master Urgen Dorje, eventually drawing on this vocabulary to create artworks that incorporate Buddhist iconography and pop culture references. His works offer an interplay and tension between sacred/secular, traditional/contemporary, settlement/movement. Sherpa’s practice stems from his personal experiences within the Himalayan Diaspora as well as the nomadic history of Himalayan peoples. His experimentations with visual languages adapt, reimagine, and reappropriate identities, symbols, colors, and gestures to surpass their chronological and cultural constrictions.
He has been a part of Yokohama Triennale (2020); Yinchuan Biennale (2018); Kathmandu Triennale (2017); Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane (2015-16); and Dhaka Art Summit (2014). Sherpa has also exhibited at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (2019); Rubin Museum of Art (2019); Asian Art Museum,San Francisco (2019); Weltmuseum Wien (2019); Kunstmuseum Bochum (2018); Berkeley Art Museum (2018). His works are in the collections of Victoria & Albert Museum; Rubin Museum of Art; Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and World Museum, Liverpool. In 2018 he undertook a residency at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford; and in February 2022 the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will present his first museum retrospective. Sherpa is represented by Rossi & Rossi.
The Curators
Hit Man Gurung, born in 1984 in Lamjung, is currently based in Kathmandu. Gurung’s diverse media of works are concerned with some of the most pressing political, economic, and cultural phenomena transforming Nepal’s physical and societal landscapes. Particularly addressing the country’s decade long People’s War, several years of unstable governments, and the impact all of this has had on the personal and professional lives of Nepali citizens. In parallel, his art also speaks to the strong impact of global capitalism, the dramatic economic boom in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, an unprecedented investment in infrastructure development within the region, and an incessant demand for cheap labor; he furthermore stitches together the various patterns of mass migrations seen across Nepal. Gurung infuses his paintings, documentary photos, videos, performances and installations with political conviction and personal poetry.
He has participated in exhibitions at SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin (2020); Biennale of Sydney (2020); Artspace Sydney (2019); Weltmuseum Wien (2019); Kathmandu Triennale (2017); Yinchuan Biennale (2016); Para Site, Hong Kong (2016); Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane (2015-16); and Dhaka Art Summit (2014, 2016, 2018 ,2020). He is co-founder of artist collective ArTree Nepal and a co-curator for the Kathmandu Triennale 2077 and 12 Baishakh-Post Earthquake Community Art Project alongside Sheelasha Rajbhandari.
Sheelasha Rajbhandari, born in 1988 in Kathmandu, is a visual artist, cultural organizer, and co-founder of the artist collective Artree Nepal. Her longitudinal research repositions quotidian and plural narratives, by weaving folktales, oral histories, and performative rituals as a juxtaposition to conventional historiography. Rajbhandari’s practice is rooted in the experiences of women and seeks to confront how female agency and corporeality become contested political sites for contemporary nation-states; a phenomenon that parallels the dismantling of matricentric landscapes in extractive societies.
Her installation in the traveling exhibition “A beast, a god and a line” (2018-2020) was presented at Para Site, Hong Kong; TS1, Yangon; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw; Kunsthall, Trondheim; and MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai. She has also been an artist in residence at the Bellas Artes Projects (2019) and Para Site (2017). She has furthermore exhibited at Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2022), Weltmuseum Wien (2019); Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa (2017); and Kathmandu Triennale (2017). As a part of her collective she has been a part of Dhaka Art Summit (2020) and Biennale of Sydney (2020). Rajbhandari is co-curator of the Kathmandu Triennale 2077 and 12 Baishakh-Post Earthquake Community Art Project alongside Hit Man Gurung.
The Curators
Hit Man Gurung’s diverse works are concerned with some of the most pressing political, economic, and cultural phenomena transforming Nepal’s physical and societal landscapes. In particular, they address the country’s decade-long People’s War, several years of unstable governments, and the impact that these events have had on the personal and professional lives of Nepali citizens. His paintings, documentary photos, videos, performances, and installations are infused with political conviction and personal poetry. He has participated in exhibitions at SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin (2020), Artspace Sydney (2019), Yinchuan Biennale (2016), Para Site in Hong Kong (2016), and Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane (2015–16).
Sheelasha Rajbhandari’s longitudinal research
repositions quotidian and plural narratives by weaving folktales, oral histories, and performative rituals as a juxtaposition to conventional historiography. Her practice is rooted in the experiences of women and seeks to confront how female agency and corporeality become contested political sites for contemporary nation-states. Her installations and works have been presented at international venues, including the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2022), the travelling exhibition A beast, a god, and a line (2018–20), Weltmuseum Wien (2019), Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa (2017), and Kathmandu Triennale (2017).
Their collective, ArTree Nepal, participated in the Dhaka Art Summit (2020) and the Biennale of Sydney (2020). They are also co-curators of the Kathmandu
Triennale 2077 and 12 Baishakh Post-Earthquake Community Art Project.
