Sharada Chitrakar

Sharada Chitrakar’s works capture the beauty of natural landscape including the images of various birds, flowers and trees. The landscape generally includes fields, meadows, mountains and forest.  The image of crow is recurrent in her works. The atmosphere gives a sense of peace and tranquility. As she represents the nature as it is, her works are realistic in technique. Water colour, her favorite medium creates a soothing effect. Sometimes, the cultural images and architecture are reintegrated in natural setting. The images of architecture include pagoda temples, monasteries and thatched-roofed country cottages.

However, some of her paintings depict the horrible and gruesome condition of ordinary Nepalis under the omnipresent tyranny and domination in the past and present through analogy. Despite being landscape, they have socio-political undercurrent. Her colours reinforce the values associated to the images. The big black birds represent the tyrannical force, and small birds are oppressed by them. She throws light on the fact that political system and constitution have been changed but the socio-economical condition of ordinary people has remained same. She expresses socio-political concerns through ironic representations. A group of tyrants is replaced by another with different mask without any substantial change in attitude and action. A group of so called leaders performs the drama of democracy and leaves the stage for other actors to perform the same ritual in different guise. Ordinary people have not yet felt and experienced the democracy. Political tyrants as symbolized by the huge black birds exploit the words only to cheat the people. The network of tyranny, domination and corruption reaches to every corner from centre to periphery. They are forced to believe lies and roam within impasse with agony and terror as her tiny birds. Innumerable women pass their life in legalized slavery. Many have-nots work as machine for their landlords and creditors whose conduct is legalized with the twist of words. As there is no way out in real life situation, the alienated victims turn toward myths and supernatural power as symbolized by temples, stupas and religious shrines. Using analogy, the artist depicts the ever present tyranny and domination in Nepali socio-political scenario. However, her mild and soft colours conceal such motifs in surface level.