Paasapi, a group of artists, is currently hosting an art exhibition at Basantapur Durbar Square. The exhibition features dozens of paintings drawn live at various earthquake affected regions since the day the earthquake struck country in April last year.

The exhibition started on April 24 simultaneously from Barpak—the epicentre of the quake, and Lalitpur, to mark the first year anniversary of the disaster. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari attended the exhibition in Barpak where she was presented a painting as a souvenir.

After getting good response from the public, Paasapi decided to continue the exhibition at Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Basantapur Durbar, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites that were badly ruined by the quake.

Few students from Lalit Kala Campus, who decided, like many other youths, to volunteer in rescue and relief distribution efforts in the immediate aftermath of the quake, came up with an idea to capture the devastation caused by the earthquake in their paintings. “We have painted as many as 200 drawings,” says Pradeep Pal Soud, a member of Paasapi.

Another member Prabin Shrestha says their paintings were created outdoor and live. “We have painted live scenarios of Kathmandu valley, Gorkha and Sindhupalchok after the earthquake,” he said.

The group of artists including Soud, Shrestha, Bikul Dhakal and Akash Budha Magar has named their project as Project Naksa. “When we were painting the devastation caused by the earthquake at public places, people thought that we were mapping the places. That’s how we named the exhibition as Project Naksa,” says Budha Magar.

“For the first few days after the earthquake we rigorously involved ourselves in rescue works at quake-affected regions. Later, we decided to do something about it. As we were artists and had painting kits in our hands, the first thing that struck our mind was to capture the quake-ravaged scenarios in our paintings,” Budha Magar said. “We have tried to incorporate the lives of people and physical situation of earthquake-damaged places in our paintings,” he further explained.

According to Dhakal, displaying their art publicly is the first phase of their plan. In long term, the group plans to sell these paintings. “Many people who see our painting express their desire to buy them. But for now we are not selling our paintings,” says Dhakal.

The themes of their paintings range from lifestyle and landscapes, to portraits of quake affected personalities. The Paasapi is currently showcasing the exhibition at Lalit Kala Campus in Bhotahiti, Kathmandu..