There is death in every history book,” said Shyam Krishna Shrestha to elucidate on his sculpture piece titled, Vibhatsa Parinam (disturbing results). The 30 inch sculpture is an open book, inside of which are dead soldiers sedimented on top of each other, like layers of soil. Along with Vibhatsa Parinam, the ongoing solo exhibition, Amulya Thopa, at Nepal Art Council has 22 sculptures on display.  Made using fiber glass and terracotta, the sculptures at the exhibition are results of four years of continuous labour of Shrestha. Of the 22 pieces, some are as small as 13 inches, others as big as nine feet tall, and according to the sculptor his solo exhibition is the largest to happen inside the premises of an art gallery.

“External conditions of human life constantly change, but certain aspects like our desire to create and destroy remain eternal and I have tried to portray those in my sculptures,” said Shrestha. Eternal forces such as the wrath of Shiva, motherhood, the humans who want to be seen and acknowledged, and war are depicted in the sculptures. 

Walking into the gallery space, the visitor is stunned to find the raging Shiva, riding his bull, and charging at the viewer from the sky.  The heart sinks with fear and for a moment, one might forget that the  giant sculpture is an inanimate object, not physically capable of harming the visitor. Then, the visitor turns left and starts the path laid out to go through the exhibits.

There is the book of war, a woman in labour, and a 67-inch head that looks at you with the gaze of a dead man. With the reccurrence of human desires, a sense of dread lurks in the gallery. “Truth makes us uncomfortable,” the sculptor remarked and added that he has been inspired by the paintings of Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski.

One of the sculptures at the exhibition titled Vivastaka Dhun has a striking similarity with Beksinski’s painting called the Horn Player.  Shrestha said that he has put a canvas painting into a three dimensional sculpture and as such has to be considered an inspiration. Some of the other exhibits are also similar rendition of Beksinski’s paintings into sculptures.

The skill of the sculptor has to be admired for being able to derive a painting, with all its details, into a three dimensional sculpture, but it does beg the question of the difference between inspiration and imitation.

The exhibition is ongoing at Nepal Art Council and will conclude on December 23.