Shivangini Rana used to paint as a hobby whenever she had free time from her hotel job. During the long lonely days of Covid lockdowns, she took to art more seriously.
She sold her debut piece on social media, launching her artistic career in a unique format. Painting on pashmina shawls, she has turned attire into art and art into attire.
Now, 72 of her acrylic, oil and spray painted shawls are on display under Roots & Blooms, a solo exhibition at The Kalā Salon in Thamel. “My paintings all depict lines are roots and their network, representing where we come from,” Rana explains. “And the blooms depict what we see on the outside: achievements and beautiful things happening around us.”
LIFE AND LIBERATION
Rana uses metallic gold dye which she says represents the sun and light without which no life is possible. The abstracts are rooted in liberating ethos — stripping away literal representation to let the viewer dictate the meaning.
“Life itself does not come with a single meaning, and neither should art. I want each viewer to bring their own memories, emotions, and experiences to my work,” says Rana. “What begins as my story may become a reflection of theirs.”
An example is her peacock series where the bird's feather is painted on backgrounds with various colours giving viewers an impression of a nervous system or veins of a leaf painted over bold red and black with a dash of yellow.
The paintings are expressions of Rana’s emotions, experiences and cultures she has been a part of. “Every layer, every mark, every burst of colour carries a fragment of a moment lived, a lesson learned, a wound healed, or a hope still waiting to bloom. Sometimes my work emerges from happiness, sometimes from longing, and often from the beautiful uncertainty that exists between the two,” says Rana.
Rana’s pashmina and silk shawl works are the most popular and sell out each time she has exhibited in Qatar, India, and Kathmandu.
Each painted shawl has a story. The shawls pair well with both traditional and modern attire and come in a Nepali lokta paper box, which includes the creation year and painting details for limited editions.
Says Rana, “The shawl is not just a piece of clothing, it is art you wear and the stories that you carry.”
This unique exhibition is getting known around town by word of mouth, and visitors are snapping up the shawls for Rs10,000 and above, and paintings starting Rs15,000.
Roots & Blooms
by Shivangini Rana
Kala Salon, Chaya Centre, Thamel
Until 11 July
11AM – 8PM