Tradition Subverted, an exhibition which features the works of artists Asha Dangol and Erina Tamrakar, is set to kick off at Yala Mandala in Patan, on Friday.

As the title suggests, the presented works aim to engage the audience in a provocative dialogue on feminism, introspective silence, migration, urban decay, and consumerism. Since these issues relate to our lived experience, which are being discussed and debated at a national level, the paintings are bound to engage the audience in an aesthetic as well as in an intellectual level.

Paradise Lost, one of Asha’s paintings at the exhibition, explores the consequences of unplanned development in the country. Nature has bestowed plenty of gifts upon Kathmandu, but the Valley has been thoroughly corrupted by human activities. Have we wrongly defined what development is and what it means to prosper? Dangol hopes that his canvas paintings will raise these important questions as the nation continues its discussion on ill-planned urbanisation.

While Dangol uses canvas as his medium for expression, Tamrakar’s paintings are literally “set in stone.” Tamrakar, who until 2006 used oil on canvas as her primary medium, said that she is fascinated by naturally occurring stones. Most of the stones she used were collected on a hiking trip.

Both Dangol and Tamrakar have worked on their collection for about two years.

The exhibition will continue for two months.