People’s Power

Artist Ragini explains People’s Power 2006 through her powerful imagination

By A CORRESPONDENT

Human emotion has many ups and down and it is very unpredictable in nature. When people participate in collective activities, the nature of human being is further complicated. Human behavior is full of emotion, dedication, sacrifice as well as opportunism. From politics to normal social life, every individual personality survives in these contradictions.

Ragini and her work : From the eyes of creators

One of the precious things for human being is their own freedom to write, freedom to express and freedom to assemble. When someone tries to control these fundamental things, people express their anger through any means.

One of the most difficult tasks for any creative persons including artist is to collect the human behavior and express it through the colors. So, many avoid the pain of expressing the political theme.

Different people have perspectives of looking at people’s power 2006. For politicians it has political meaning but artist Ragini Upadhyaya chose the theme to express her solidarity to the agitation launched to restore the freedom of expression which is one of the most precious elements for all creative persons.

A well known artist, Ragini has a uniquely powerful talent of expressing her feelings. Unlike other artists, Ragini, too, has certain political ideas so that she often involves in painting the political activities in canvas.

In her recent works, she chose Dharahara, the highest fountain of the city to show the height of aspiration of people taking part in people’s movement. From sacrifice of people to bloody oppression by the state, her paintings are full of the events related to the people’s movement 2006.

Inaugurated by deputy prime minister and foreign minister K.P. Sharma Oli, the exhibition is first of its kind based on People’s Power expressed in the streets of the capital in April this year. In her paintings, Ragini also explains opportunism in politics along with humanity, love and other such contemporary issues.

From cautioning politicians to depicting the sacrifice of the people as a reminder to achieve the objective of People’s Movement, Ragini’s paintings are full of meanings. The combination of colors helped to clear the mind of artist Upadhyaya.

“Those who want to stop the time will destroy themselves. The people of the recent People’s Movement proved it,” said Upadhyaya who used itching, drawing and acrylic to depict the various stages of people’s power.

In her painting Arjun Ko Lakchya (target of Arjun, the mythical character of Mahabharata) Ragini draws the conclusion that Constituent Assembly is the ultimate target of People’s Movement II. In the course of portraying various stages and ups and downs of agitation, Ragini used red colors to show how revolution surrounded the mind of people. From the family of martyrs to those of injured, Ragini also painted human trauma.

“The exhibition is full of pictures of struggle of human in quest to restore their freedom of expression and their rights,” said artist Ragini whose imagination is quite powerful.

The blockade of roads, the public demonstrations, struggle against the state oppression, bloody life, Ragini depicted all the various phases of People’s Movement II. Her paintings show that creative expressions can generate such a strong response.

The exhibition will last till next week and the money collected from the sales of the paintings will be donated to the victims of people’s movement of 1990 and people’s movement of 2006. The prices of her paintings range from Rs.15, 000 to 250,000. Ragini has already sold more than a dozen of paintings in the exhibition site at NAFA Gallery Naxal.