Jesus Shrestha and his works of art that connect East and West
In the 1990s, NTV, Nepal’s first and only television channel, broadcast The Mahabharata and The Ramayan serials in hindi language. Scores from old to children would watch the series with enthusiasm. At that time, children were influenced by the stories they saw on television folk tales told by elders. And those were the times when Jesus Shrestha subconsciously nurtured his dream of becoming a visual artist and designer.
Shrestha, who has lived in Helsinki since 2011, says that her paintings and other works of art still reflect these roots. Painting, installation, illustration, music and more that he learned in a European environment, he expands a perspective that was transmitted orally and rarely documented in childhood and before.
Shrestha, who graduated with a master’s degree in contemporary art from Aalto University, says that art is part of the process of living, and she wants to go through it in different places at different times. So far, Jesus Shrestha has held several private art exhibitions in Finland and this time he is preparing for his solo exhibition in Nepal. Museum of Nepalese Art (MoNA), Thamel. The exhibition starts on Sunday 23.10.
Grow as an artist
Jesus Shrestha grew up in the immediate vicinity of Makhan Tole, a part of Kathmandu where the majestic architecture is one of the focal points of the main celebrations and is accompanied by interesting stories.
Since childhood, he has been drawn to those stories and the epics of Ramayan and Mahabharata. Then reading comics became his hobby, and he began to imagine what if the greatest epics were all comics.
However, he was reluctant to ask his parents for comics and read them by borrowing them from his friends. In these stories, he met interesting characters that he wanted to watch again and again.
But since he had no money and was afraid to ask his parents, the financial solution was to draw those characters himself. This is how Jesus Shrestha perfected portrait drawing during his school days. His exercise books were stolen from him because he drew and drew in them so that everyone liked them.
His love for art started when he was in school. He credits his teachers and friends who supported his art when he was a child. Their support helped him see his hobby as a form of career in his adult life.
“I got Rs 3,000 the first time I did a portrait of a guest who was the wife of the then Chief of Police. I was put under so much pressure to complete the portrait in a short time and it took half an hour,” recalls Shrestha. “The guest was so happy to see her portrait. I was still more certain that I will become an artist.
Connecting East to West
![Jesus Shrestha](https://english.onlinekhabar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/jesus-Shrestha-recent.jpg)
Jesus Shrestha studied at the Dipendra Police School in Sanga, about 25 km east of Kathmandu, staying in the school’s hostel. Although his friends and teachers supported his interest in art, his parents asked him to consider careers other than being an artist as a goal in life.
As a result, he studied at two institutions for his high school and undergraduate levels at the same time. He later completed his BFA (2010) and BA in Sociology (2009) in Nepal. In 2014, he also completed a bachelor’s degree in social sciences (BASoc) from Diakonia University of Applied Sciences. He studied visual culture and contemporary art, which he graduated in 2019 in Finland.
He didn’t get support from his family to pursue art as a profession, so he had to study two different courses. However, his older sister supported (and supports) his artistic journey.
“When I got to know the Western masters, I was strongly influenced by Picasso, Van Gogh and other impressionist artists. Once in my life, everything I drew or painted overshadowed Picasso,” says Jesus Shrestha.
“When I arrived in Finland, the world of the internet offered me the kind of information I didn’t have in Nepal, because then the internet wasn’t as widely available as it is today. Then gradually I also got to see the original works of the masters through the museums of the Scandinavian region, which helped to build my perspectives and thoughts.”
Even then Ramayana, Mahabharata and other folk tales from Kathmandu were in his head. Then he decided to find his own niche. Today, he says his artwork is a mix of East and West. Looking at his artwork, it seems that he has become a catalyst as an artist who can combine these two cultures into one, forming a unique form of modern art.
And that is what Jesus Shrestha strives for. He says that he understood the value of artworks openly placed in Nepal when he saw how Finns preserve their ancient art and objects. “I felt ashamed and broken to see this because the government has not made any effort to protect and preserve the equally old and even older Nepalese art and artifacts.”
His hunger promotes Nepal
As an artist, Jesus Shrestha’s aim now is to bring Nepal into the world scenario and do something to make Nepal known to the world, not just as the land of Mt Everest or the birthplace of Lord Buddha. He says: “For this reason, I use my art to depict and present the unique quality of being Nepalese. My roots are Nepali and it is reflected in my art. I am still working on the Dashavatar project and it has been 14 years now.”
His goal became even stronger when he did his first private painting in Helsinki, where he was presented as the first Nepali artist in Finland. This made him feel proud and he says, “Now I want to make Nepal proud.”
Another thing that made him want to make Nepal known to the world was when someone at an exhibition asked him about the differences between Nepali and Indian art and culture.
Jesus Shrestha points out that the Nepali and Indian art traditions appear identical to Western eyes. “I was taken aback by the question. But I told him that Nepali art is unique in its own terms and the existence of Nepal is older than India.
According to him, he wanted to show the world Nepali culture, but in a different way than in modern times. “Through my paintings, I’m still doing that.”
Exhibition in Nepal and much more
![Jesus Shrestha works in his studio in Finland.](https://english.onlinekhabar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jesus-Shrestha-working.jpg)
Jesus Shrestha, who comes to Nepal again and again, recently fascinated the Nepal Art Museum (MANY). When he met and shared his experience with Rajan Sakya, the founder of the museum, his wish to organize an exhibition in Nepal came true.
In this exhibition, which starts on Sunday, October 23, he presents his paintings from 2008 to 2011, which he calls a self-introduction to Nepal.
Jeesus Shrestha has been working in art for over ten years. In the coming days, he wants to document the folklore of Nepal in the form of an illustrative book, focusing on the positive aspects of the characters. He believes that history is usually written from the perspective of the winners, which is not necessarily positive.
His book Gurumapa, funded by the Ministry of Culture, will also be launched at the opening of the exhibition.
His reward
- 2006: SOS Artist of the Year, Kavre (Dipendra Police Academy, Nepal)
- 2020: Helsinki’s best illustrator, Maunula publication Helsinki
- 2021: Ministry of Education, Taike artist grant: Helsinki
- 2022: Winner of a grant from the City of Helsinki and the Ministry of Education