Nirbichar Bichar- The idea of having no idea”- Solo Exhibition by Binaya Humangain
The upcoming exhibition at Bikalpa Art Center, titled “Nirbichar Bichar” or “The idea of having no Idea” by Binaya Humagain, is a collection of mixed media artworks (drawings, paintings, and pyrographies), he started during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown as a form of meditation. He explained the lockdown was a mentally and physically challenging time for him because his family caught the COVID-19 virus. With nothing to do during the lockdown, his mind started to ponder about the meaning of life. He started to read books such as “Buddhism: Plain and Simple” by Steve Hagen and watch movies like “Zen Noir ‘’ which helped him build the concept of the world, society, and us as individuals. While deep in his research, he stumbled upon the concept of “Sunya’’ – a Sanskrit word for the void. Sunya encourages people to think and make choices by putting their egos aside. His work in this exhibition, such as the one titled “I am not”, is heavily influenced by the concept of Sunya, and his spiritual journey. It takes references from the conversations about life, individuals’ purpose, and their roles in the world, he had with his friends over a “Chia” (tea) before covid. He states his artworks reflected his perception that has accumulated over time from the discussions and collective arguments he had about life, spirituality, the society we live in, and the world in general.
This exhibition is curated by Mr. Saroj Mahato and organized by Bikalpa Art Center. The exhibition opening is planned for December 21, 2023, 5:00 pm onwards and it will be inaugurated by Her Excellency Dr. Danielle Meuwly, Swiss Ambassador to Nepal.
The exhibition will continue until January 18, 2024. Gallery opening hours are 10:00 am – 5:00 pm every day.
About the Artist
Binaya Humagain hails from Kavrepalanchok District and was raised in the vibrant Kathmandu Valley, where he received a higher education in the field of Art. With a passion for creativity, Binaya has showcased his artistic talents through a solo exhibition titled “Child Simplicity” and has actively taken part in numerous International and National Group Exhibitions. His remarkable artwork has found its way into collections across Nepal and outside Nepal.
Binaya is known for his versatility in exploring various artistic mediums, constantly experimenting to innovate new ideas and styles. His recent work is centered around spiritual themes, reflecting his profound understanding of spiritual education and knowledge.
In addition to his career as a Visual Artist, Binaya has served as an Art instructor, actively engaging with multiple schools and colleges to impart his expertise and nurture budding artistic talent.
Curatorial Note:
In the boundless canvas of abstraction, the mind, meditative voyage, sails through the endless seas of nothingness, where absence births purity, and the soul finds solace in the poetry of emptiness. Binaya’s work invites you to contemplate the essence of creation. It shares the enigmatic understanding of the absence of structured thoughts and provokes steady convictions or the rigid ideas of being oneself.
Welcome to the exhibition “Nirbichar Bichar- The idea of having no idea” by Binaya Humagain, a recent graduate from Tribhuvan University identifying his creative signature with specific techniques and style. The collection shows Binaya’s meditative process in a mixture of line drawings, paintings, and pyrography in scales from miniature to colossal canvases. The title, “Nirbichar Bichar” encapsulates the paradoxical nature of creativity, the simultaneous presence and absence of a definite concept. In each piece, the artist delves into the realm of the unknown, embracing the uncertainty and chaos that often precede the birth of a concept.
The exhibition unfolds as a visual narrative, beginning with small-scale pyrography pieces that intricately etch the artist’s musings onto paper. The delicate strokes of flames leave behind a trail of thoughts. Moving to larger canvases, bursting with color and emotion, reflecting the artist’s liberated exploration of form and repetitive lines, capture the essence of a mind in constant flux.
The collection as a whole invites contemplation on the very act of creation itself, encouraging us to embrace the beauty that arises from the absence of a predefined idea. The juxtaposition of each piece creates a harmonious narrative. The exhibition space becomes a playground of contrasts, mirroring the rigid dichotomy between science and spirituality inherent in the creative process.
As you navigate through this exhibition, allow yourself to be immersed in the ambiguous landscapes of Binaya’s mind. “Nirbichar Bichar” is an invitation to embrace emptiness, find beauty in chaos, and revel in the infinite possibilities that lie within the realm of artistic creation.
Saroj Mahato
Curator- Bikalpa Art Center
Artist’s Statement:
Talking about my artwork, I could have painted my canvas blank hinting at the title, but rather I chose to paint with a medium to express my thoughts through these series of paintings about nothing by continually doing the same thing repeatedly, again and again, indicating the hard work and patience involved in it and yet could show no particular concept or idea behind it reflecting the idea of work which is ‘Nothing’. It is quite hard to dissolve yourself into nothing because our mind frequently wants to indulge itself in something or it takes us through the journey of the future and the past at the same time. Hence signaling that it’s seldom a possible feat for most human beings to be in the state of nothing or to think nothing in particular.
I think this is how an artist’s life is made. We have made ourselves think about new topics for the new idea. We have taught ourselves to think again and again so that we can find something beautiful in our lives. Instead, I have tried going opposite to it rather than having too many ideas. I think that having a single idea makes us more aware of the present or gives our mind a space to think better. So meditation has become the best way to indulge in creativity.
As I am living my life and roaming around with friends, or while we sip warm cups of tea sitting in our favorite cafe, we often discuss life and spirituality. While we do so, we understand that ‘Life’ for each of us holds different meanings. We have a different perspective on looking at Life as a whole. Sometimes we have arguments when our perceived idea conflicts, and sometimes we come to the conclusion that binds us together in the art of practicing philosophy. Therefore this idea or the perception we have about life and the world around us and how we have felt the cosmic energy around us is what has inspired me to create these artworks. So, my artworks reflect my perceptions that have accumulated over time from the discussions and collective arguments we had about life, spirituality, the world in general, and the society we live in.
But saying that these works are solely the by-product of these discussions would be unfair, as I have also contributed my time and energy into the deep research of the particular subject through the means of books and listening plus following the wisdoms of great minds that I admire. The best book that I have ever read and come across is “Buddhism: Plain and Simple”, by Steve Hagen as well as ‘Zen Noir’- a beautiful movie that I have watched many times. I have also drawn inspiration from the audio by Thich Nhat Hanh about the Zen Buddhism.
Well, the Work started at the time of COVID-19 in 2020, when we were locked inside our four walls and there wasn’t anything motivating to do as we were completely caged in our homes. My family got infected with Covid 19 and life was playing mental games with all of us. The time was hectic and I started gaining fat due to the boredom and laziness that followed due to the virus. The infinite boredom arose and my motivation to create art degraded until finally, I convinced myself to create something that would work as a mediation to my fatigue of being quarantined inside my home for so long and at the same time be my college work, hence I came with the concept of ‘Nothing’ where I mostly focus on the process rather than the idea itself. The idea has no bigger place in this work but is rather a mediation where I keep on repeating the lines and dots first on paper and later on canvas just like we repeat inhale and exhale while meditating in a cross-legged position. Having no ideas or care for what shall be the outcome, in fact having nothing in the mind.
Each line symbolizes nothing and a lot of nothing creating one big nothing delightful to watch in the process. I started doing that for a couple of pages, it felt good, and started getting comfortable with doing that more and moved on to the bigger one where I chose different-sized paper. At that period, it was so difficult to buy the art materials I needed for my work, therefore I worked with whatever I could get hold of in my place, hence initiating the first step of working on nothing.
During those lockdown days of COVID-19, I didn’t do any work on canvases and didn’t paint with acrylic or oil because I didn’t have access to all these materials to buy from the shop, resulting in most of my work from pen and ink as a result. And in watercolor, basically a similar monochrome color of black painted with sticks that I have made myself from bamboo.
After the lockdown finally concluded, I shifted from working on paper to working on canvases. I enrolled myself in conversation with my teachers and friends about my topic and came to an understanding of how religions of the world for centuries have used repetitive patterns to express the spiritual understanding of God. As for example, the Islamic culture has always used beautiful repetitive designs to express the divinity of God.
From this point on, I started understanding and reading to get insights on different religions of the world and it’s philosophies. Before I was restricted to the understanding of Zen Buddhism only, due to its simplicity of understanding self and meditation in general.
Post event update
The evening of the opening of the ‘Nirbichar Bichar- The idea of having no idea’ was an insightful one. There was much meaningful conversation in the room about ‘the idea of having no idea’.
Thank you to H.E Danielle Meuwly, the Swiss Ambassador to Nepal, for inaugurating this exhibition. It was truly a celebration of art, emotions, and cultural exchange bringing diversity to our communities.
We want to extend our deepest gratitude to the media, our volunteers who worked with us to set up this exhibition, our operations staff at Bikalpa Art Cafe for the smooth running of food and beverages, and the audience without whom our event would not have been this memorable.
If you missed the exhibition will be open for public viewing until January 18th, 2024. The gallery times are 10 am to 6 pm every day. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey of art and exploration.
