An exhibition titled Nepal Today: In the Forest, In the Villages is being held in Italy, showcasing the work of three noted Nepali photographers: Kishor Sharma, Uma Bista, and Sagar Chhetri. The two-month-long exhibition in the town of Lonato del Garda near Venice was curated by Filippo Maggia and will remain open to the public through 30 August.
Kishor Sharma's contribution, Living in the Mist, is the product of six years of close documentation of the nomadic Raute community and their way of life. Also published as a photo book of the same title, the work offers a rare glimpse into the Rautes' resistance to absorption into the modern world, prompting reflection on the possibility of alternative and autonomous modes of living.
His earlier book Living in the Mist was reviewed in this paper in 2023 under the title Image No Posessions. One of Sharma’s photographs of the Raute is the cover image of the book Nepal Today: In the Forest, In the Villages featuring some of the photos from the exhibition and is published by Silvana Editoriale.
Maggia writes in the book: ‘While in the West photography seems to have lost its way amid the endless proliferation of images since the advent of the digital era, photographic practice across the Global South remains widespread and supported by research and production centres of international standing.’
He adds: ‘Uma Bista, Sagar Chhetri, and Kishor Sharma (are) united by their engagement with social, political, and gender-related issues. Their projects reflect the transformations currently reshaping Nepal, where the language of images foregrounds the social responsibility of the photographer, going far beyond traditional reportage and documentary inquiry.’
In Our Songs from the Forest Uma Bista follows young women from Achham district who are living under Chhaupadi — a practice that confines women to cowsheds during menstruation, branding them impure and untouchable. Despite being outlawed in 2005 and criminalised in 2018, the tradition persists, upheld by fears of ostracism and divine retribution.
Our Songs from the Forest was exhibited by Bista in 2019 in Kathmandu, and it was reviewed in Nepali Times at the time by Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati.
Sagar Chhetri's work Eclipse examines the complex and often contested identity of the people of Madesh and delves into how this border region has served as a crucible of political grievance and has been at the heart of one of his generation's most significant struggles for identity and recognition.
Filippo Maggia writes: ‘Focusing solely on photography, Nepal presents itself as a country rich in young artists exploring themes such as gender dynamics, memory and identity, postcolonial heritage, politics, society, religion, and culture. The current generation of contemporary artists is perhaps the first to have ever existed in Nepal, and their work reveals a solid artistic background and a great proactive energy, powerful content, and bold forms of expression, despite the lack of public and private facilities.’
The project has received support from the Italian Ministry of Culture under its Strategia Fotografia 2025 program.
Nepal Today: In the Forest, In the Villages
Photos by: Lonato del Garda, Kishor Sharma, Uma Bista
Till 30 August
Lonato del Garda, Brescia, Italy