A self-taught artist, not quite into the whole education system, Rosella is back in the capital for a solo art exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery. [Opening one of his suitcases, he says of the nude reliefs on colorful lokta paper stacked within, “What I’m trying is to predict and visually express the last three to five minutes of one’s life.”[break]
The topic of death is grim and it is difficult to understand this artist’s concept. Even so, Rosella is in a cheery disposition and goes on to elaborate.
“It was the death of my father and my own near to death experience that led to me imagine the stages of moments of leaving one’s body,” continues the artist, who is attempting to depict outer body experiences. “Well, there’s no proof of what exactly happens but this is my interpretation,” he outlines.
Meant to be viewed serially, as one whole work, each relief depicts a nude man. “I want it to be like an animation,” he states.
About his simple and rather primitive forms, he says, “I want to keep everything simple and basic.” Other molds that he will be putting for viewing include female figures, a dragonfly and an extinct butterfly.
Someone who generally worked with stone and wood, Rosella began his experimentation with creating relief prints from his sculptures at the suggestion of a friend some 15 years back. The relief prints have been made from Nepali handmade lokta, which the artist is very fond of.
“It’s organic and natural, but most of all, I chose to work on paper because it’s very different from stone and wood,” puts in Rosella.
Another aspect of his exhibition titled ‘Once in a lifetime – Part 2’ consists of funeral cards that Rosella has collected of his relatives.
“Italians have the tradition of giving out cards on the deceased at funerals and I’ll be displaying about 30 of them on one of the walls,” he points out. The cards include his relatives and family members.
“I feel that this is the end of a series, but I’m not yet done experimenting with paper molds,” Rosella shares. “I’m not going to stop using the medium but pick a new subject instead.”
Once in a Lifetime – Part 2 opens at the Siddhartha Art Galley in Baber Mahal Revisited on Sunday, November 21. The exhibition will remain open till December 5.
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