Who are you? | Canvas | wavemag.com.np

We often look for peace of mind in material things scarcely stopping to look within ourselves. At some point in life, we learn that only if we understand the things around us will we see a clearer reflection of this 'self' we identify with. For Sujan Chitrakar, art has been such a mirror-like medium.

Sujan started out studying science, unquestioningly following the popular opinion that all good students become doctors. At some point, he decided his diagrams were better and more interesting. So he dropped out and enrolled in Lalit Kala Fine Arts Campus. Of course, his family was supportive, after all, he belonged to a family of Chitrakars. However, there were little snags he had to deal with.

In his teenage years, Sujan, like any other teenager, felt he could take on the world and change it. "Youth gives you the courage to explore and experiment, a quality that wanes as you grow older and weighed down with responsibilities," says Sujan. He had, at first, wanted to study animation but lack of facilities forced him to study conventional and contemporary art. It was the abstract expressionistic forms that leaped beyond frames and canvas that captured his imagination. Ever since, he's been using art installations to have viewers step into his world.

Sujan and his friend, Binod Shrestha, held their very first exhibition titled Confluence at Nepal Art Council in 2000. A few years later, Sujan had his solo exhibition Utopian Introspection at Siddhartha Art Gallery in 2004. They were mediums through which to meditate on self for both artists and art lovers.

"Art is a medium for individual development. You don't have to be an artist, just be someone on the look out for life. I gather my experiences, generalise, then project them into my work," says Sujan. "The unconventional always fascinated me. Though my family was supportive, they now question me because I don't produce realistic works anymore," he adds with a laugh. "In a way, I guess that means I've found my footing."

At his last exhibition, Sujan repeatedly bombarded people with the question that has fascinated individuals since the beginning of time—Who art thou? The answer is still as elusive, he assures us. Sujan's search for self led him to seek utopia in various forms of art only to learn that "Utopia is inside you. It is that feeling of calm you receive through meditation or spiritual realisation". These are difficult times but you can be 'swayambhu' (yourself, the earth), he says, adding, "It is not peace of mind that leads to utopia but relentless questioning. All you need to do is see what's around you and explore, guided by your values."