15th, Dec 2013
Kathmandu : Vibrant daily life of people, human relation with nature and god, mythical stories of Ram-Sita, Radha Krishna, Basuki Naag and Batsabitri among others displayed through intricate Mithila artworks adorn the walls of Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited.
Prominent Mithila artist S C Suman has come forth with these alluring works in his solo exhibition ‘Mithila Cosmos Circumambulating The Tree of Life’ that began at the gallery on December 10.
The canvas are filled with figures and forms either in bright colours or in monochrome that have been created using acrylic or natural pigments on paper.
In ‘Naag Panchami’, there are entangled snakes forming a border in one canvas. And inside that border, other set of snakes are twined together.
The remaining space of this work is all filled with daily life scenes in a rural settlement — women carrying water, marriage ceremony, people worshipping Shivaling and much more.
Suman, who grew up watching his grandmother making paintings as a part of the ritual for different festivals at his home in Siraha says that his grandmother inspired him to work on Mithila art. Though the artist has experimented his works in terms of theme, he has not debased the tranquil beauty and simplicity of Mithila art done by women.
His works retain the originality of Mithila artworks.
In ‘Durgaspatasati’, he has used scripts to fill the canvas resembling imageries of traditional Mithila paintings. In earthy tones of yellow, orange, red, brown and black, he has created a symphony of colours representing Durga, Saraswati and Laxmi inside a rectangular border. He has also focused on extreme detailing of the ornaments of the goddesses and patterns in their clothes.
And tree is the major motif of this artist. He has attempted to depict the ecological relation of humans, birds and animals with trees. His ‘Cosmic Tree’ has a tree with green leaves and fruits and its each branch has a peacock — peacock and fruits symbolising “good luck” as per Suman.
“In mythological stories trees are worshipped. And there is a saying that one should not cut down trees, if s/he does so, s/he becomes be a sinner. Nonetheless, the tree has great
importance for living beings in the modern world too, life on earth is impossible without tree,” he expresses.
Visit the exhibit to explore more interesting Mithila works on tree of life. The Himalayan :
