While exhibitions such as Larva’s ‘The Beginning’ and KCAC’s Winter Show had some prints, 2010 only saw print focused shows, by artists Sushma Shakya, Ragini Upadhyay and Saurganga Darshandhari. On a positive note, the year ended with the exhibition of experimental prints at Sirjana College of Fine Arts.[break]
Even so, all these shows were rare instances where the focus was on prints and the explorations in printmaking - a form of fine art that has yet to be fully explored in Nepal.
“All second and third year Bachelor students have to learn linocut, woodcut and etching,” explains Saurganga, who teaches relief printing and intaglio at Lalit Kala Campus. The number of students who take up printmaking after graduating from college, however, is next to nil.
“For one, it is an expensive medium to pursue independently,” Saurganga mentions the key deterrent and smiles, “Secondly, you need a lot of patience to do printmaking.”
With a graduate degree in Printmaking from the University of Development Alternative in Bangladesh, she is one of the three only artists with a Masters degree in the subject along with Seema Shah and husband Uma Shankar Shah. All three are teachers at Lalit Kala Campus.
Uma Shankar shows around their studio at Dallu, near Swayambhu in Kathmandu. “It cost us around Rs 6,00,000 to buy and transport this press from Delhi,” he points out. The electric press runs manually and is fit for large zinc plates he and Seema work on. Considered pioneers in contemporary Nepali printmaking, the couple started printmaking at the then Nepal Association of Fine Arts (NAFA) in 1996 and also introduced the medium in Lalit Kala’s curriculum.
“It is sad that the press there lies neglected in one of the corridors,” laments Seema, who has 17 printmaking students under her wing in the Masters program of Lalit Kala, which owns two presses -- one each for Bachelors and Masters students. While Sirjana College owns one, there are no presses at Kathmandu University Center for Art and Design.
Presses are limited in the Valley and to purchase one is a heavy investment artists can hardly afford. Moreover, owning a press alone doesn’t suffice for running a printmaking studio.
“We have to order and import proper paper and plates from Kolkata,” shares Uma Shankar and continues, “We spend around Rs 4,00,000 for a single consignment and that’s a lot of money.”
Seema and Uma Shankar are among the few Nepali artists who sell their works at a minimum of Rs 2,00,000 per print and can afford to buy the needed supplies.
Even materials available here are not of good quality. “The zinc sheets available here only have a thin layer of zinc. They don’t have the correct viscosity to withstand the nitric acid we use for etching,” he complains.
The use of acid and toxic inks in the process makes printmaking a hazardous medium. “I couldn’t stand the smell of chemicals and therefore, stopped screen printing,” confesses Saurganga, another reason which deters artists. The printmaking room at Lalit Kala is dingy and lacks proper ventilation.
“Inhaling nitric acid is very harmful to the kidneys,” reveals Uma Shankar. “We keep the acid outdoors,” adds Seema. Despite knowing the toxic nature of inks, they don’t use gloves while wiping their plates.
Printmaking is highly technical and therefore tedious. “It takes me around two months to complete an edition,” says Seema Shah. However, it is the possibility of endless experimentation which makes the medium attractive to her.
“You never know what result you are going to get when you print, which makes it very exciting,” puts in the artist.
Ragini, on the other hand, doesn’t prefer to make editions and enjoys mixing printmaking with other mediums such as watercolor and collage.
“Printmaking was introduced very late into the art schools here but the scope is very high,” believes the artist, who has been printmaking since 1979. “I always sell more of my prints than my paintings,” states the artist. “Prints being works on paper are portable and therefore sell easily.”
Uma Shankar outlines another advantage of prints, “Because you make multiple copies of the same plate, you can participate in many exhibitions at the same time and also keep a copy for yourself.”
Sangeeta Thapa, whose gallery has turned 25, also shares her views on printmakers and printmaking in Nepal. “I find it very problematic because artists aren’t honest,” she says ruefully. “Not numbering their prints and making copies even after the edition has been sold is not acceptable but some of them do that out here,” Sangeeta says.
An edition once sold is not printed again because it would be cheating the buyers, concur Shah couple who make an edition of 10. “We never print more even if we get requests,” Seema informs. Saurganga had her recent prints in editions of seven.
An edition is a set of prints made from the same plate. The number of prints in an edition varies from artist to artist. Each print has to be properly labeled and signed.
“Unlike paintings, the value of prints is in their multiple copies,” smiles Seema, who hopes that her students will pursue the medium seriously in the future.
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