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Nepal Art Now

Gallery 1: Modern and Contemporary Painting

Revolutionary Dreams, from the ongoing series I Have to Feed Myself, My Family and My Country
Hit Man Gurung

Revolutionary Dreams addresses the ironic realties of contemporary Nepalese society.

This series of works reference the memories associated with my birthplace, Najaree, and the dramatic changes I encountered during my recent visit to the region following a nineteen-year absence. The series highlights the extent to which internal and external conflicts, such as continued political instability, the ten-year Maoist insurgency and global capitalist forces affect the social fabric of villages in developing countries such as Nepal. Full of hopes and dreams for a better future, 1,700 to 2,000 Nepalis leave the country each day to join a cheap international labour force, mostly in the Gulf countries and Malaysia. At the same time, there has also been an increase in internal migration from villages to small towns, and from small towns to cities. The villages are emptying out, and social communal structures are rapidly disappearing and dying. At present, the majority of small villages have been emptied and deserted, as is the case of Najaree in Nepal; the rich agricultural lands have become barren. Almost all young and middle-aged people have migrated elsewhere. Those remaining belong to older generations, and those unable to afford to leave.

This painting is about the former Maoist militia PLA (People’s Liberation Army in Nepal) who were inspired by the revolutionary dream of bringing about political and social reformation in Nepal. In Nov 2006, the SPA (Seven Party Alliance) and the Maoists signed several agreements, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to end the decade-long insurgency. Both sides also agreed to an arms management process and to the election of a Constituent Assembly. The arms management process provided three options to former PLA combatants – integration, voluntary retirement, and rehabilitation. Thousands of former PLA, who voluntarily retired and rehabilitated in a desperate plea to sustain their livelihood, joined foreign cheap labour forces, above all in the Gulf region and Malaysia.

This painting forms part of my performative photography project, in which I assumed various character roles from memory by wearing clothes and traditional costumes borrowed from the villagers. I also transformed myself by wearing the garments of migrant Nepalese labourers. I combined these two images of past and present in a single frame to depict the current contradictions in Nepalese society.