Fig. The State of My Heart: Artist’s Emotions on Display

Abani Malla’s first ever solo art exhibition gave a glimpse of what her heart has been through in the past two decades.

17, Aug 2022 | nepaltraveller.com

“Fig. The State of My Heart” was a mixed media installation that captured two decades of emotions on a canvas, depicting human emotions through three-time facets: present, patience, and persistence.

A week-long exhibition at Tumbahalaya concluded on a high note as Abani Malla portrayed relatable yet hard-to-express emotions. The installations were a recurring cry for help, for acceptance of one's circumstances, while pounding through reminiscences of the past. It was a literal exhibition, where the state of heart was portrayed as an open canvas.  Malla focused on giving a glimpse of the past two decades of her life and how her heart has been through different facets of time emotionally. 

The exhibition had four installations in three segments, where the visitors could experience the raw emotions along with poetry for each one. The three segments were as follows:

 

Patience

The first floor of Tumbahalaya had the installations ‘Patience I & II’ where the artist has presented her emotions through time. Patience I was a concept of a graveyard here the tombstone is replicated by a recurring wail made from a white cotton thread or cotton textile. The dried flowers, candles & incense sticks signified long committed act of care by loved ones. Patience II was a gate to contemplate music that everyone listens to when they’re hurt. It interactively collected visitors’ songs and made a collective Playlist.

 

Present

 ‘Present’ gave visitors an experience around the artist’s heart along with the sound of a beating heart in real-time.

 

Persistence: 

 

This interactive installation signified flesh from the broken part of the heart where visitors could try to mend the holes in it with messages and notes they wrote either for themselves or their loved ones.Different art mediums were used in this exhibition, like pen and ink, embroidery on canvas and textiles. Visitors were able to relate closely with the exhibition as it portrayed the emotions of the heart that all of us have faced during certain periods of our lives. 

 

The exhibition location, Tumbahalaya, is a coworking studio and hang-out space. Initially started as a workshop and coworking space, it aims to house creative events where anyone can come and experience Patan’s ambience. Tumbahalaya is a very cosy space which matches the intimate concept of the exhibition hence proving to be the ideal place to display. Suv Pradhan, owner of Tumbahalaya said,  “The responses from the visitors were very overwhelming, something which I and abani had not expected at all.”

 

Abani is a visual artist and writer based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Initially, a pen and ink artist, Abani has been doing digital illustrations since 2014 and expresses how installation art, stitching and embroidery is a new concept for her. “I want everyone to accept who they are even in their most vulnerable moment and also learn to forgive themselves.” she shared.

Text By: Anjila Khadka

Photos By: Bidyash Dangol


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