Photos: Republica

As you enter Nexus Café, Pulchowk and walk around the building, you will be overwhelmed, in a good way, by looking at the number of illustrations that are hung on the sides of the ladder and inside the gallery. These colorful and bright illustrations feature local people, animals, daily activities and many more, and the credit goes to artist Prakash Ranjit.

Moreover, you might feel anxious looking at the artworks. However, if you keep looking at the details in the artworks, spread around the three-storied building, you will notice that these are not just illustrations, but a diary that has pictures instead of words.

The exhibition kicked off on June 7 with the aim of creating a discourse on mental health. The artist found solace creating artwork during the days when he was mentally ill. Prakash was diagnosed with a borderline disorder four years ago, due to which, he experienced a range of things like anxiety, depression, heighten negative thoughts with extreme mood fluctuations and tendencies of self-harm.

About his health, he shared, “I figured out that something was wrong with me and went to get a diagnosis. My doctor told me to express all of my emotions in any way I wanted to. He suggested that I write, but I preferred drawing and it helped me a lot.”

The exhibition, titled ‘365 not just a number’, is a platform to create a discourse on the taboo subject of mental disorders. It's his way of spreading awareness about mental health. Similar to the title of the exhibition, it features a total of 365 illustrations and each illustration symbolizes each day and how he felt about it.

For the exhibition, Prakash created some illustrations based on the meaning of tarot cards and he used his own way to interpret the meaning of those tarot cards. In the illustration ‘death’, one of the cards in the tarot deck means the death or the end of something and a new beginning. He created a mouse version of the Grim Reaper with bright ruby eyes, and in front of it are a bunch of red roses. There is a beautiful sunset among the trees in the background.

When asked about the reason behind using motifs of animals, he expressed, “We tend to compare our behaviors or characteristics with those of animals, and that is why I used animals in my artworks. It also symbolically represents the burdens we carry in our lives.”

Moreover, in another illustration, he created three little kids looking out of a traditional wooden window, excited by a beautiful butterfly. Next to the window, there is a goofy looking pigeon sitting inside the hole in the wall. 

The illustrations in the exhibition narrate the stories seen in our everyday life and there are some illustrations that show his own personal stories, having emotional values. Prakash is a 28-year-old freelance illustrator who has a degree in BFA and art has been his way of living.

The exhibition continues till Sunday.