YVAN Header Artist Manish Harijan
Manish Harijan
Manish Harijan is a contemporary Nepali artist who lives in Sheffield, UK. The son of a shoemaker from the Dalit or untouchable caste, through art, Manish questions the injustices inflicted upon minorities and the lived experiences of vulnerable populations in all societies around the world. His work traverses the east and the west, casting iconic images from religion to pop culture, smoothly embedding them in one canvas to create bold, beautiful and thought-provoking paintings.
In 2012, for his first solo exhibition at Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu, Manish brought together these themes challenging the status quo of tradition, hierarchy, religion and beliefs in Nepal. Unfortunately, the gallery was vandalised and Manish was sent death threats and accused of being anti-Hindu for portraying Hindu gods in superhero costumes. The exhibition was shut down, court cases were filed and UNESCO issued a press release to support the artist’s freedom of expression.
Manish is one of 45 artists whose paintings has been shortlisted and final acquisition for the UK’s Government Art Collection 2020/21. His works have also been exhibited at World conference of statelessness at Museum of Communication in The Hague, Netherlands, Welt Museum in Vienna, , Nepal Art Council in Kathmandu, Yorkshire Art Space in Sheffield, India Art Fair in New Delhi, CKU Copenhagen in Denmark, October Gallery in London, ROSL Gallery in London, Bloc Project Sheffield and Artist’s Journey #3 in the UK.
Besides paintings, Manish also experiments with installations, sculptures and multimedia. He works at his studio in Yorkshire Art Space.
The Works
No.108 acrylic on canvas 2012
Exhibited at Siddhartha art Gallery in Kathmandu 2012
The work is from the series of Rise of the Cultu-latural, was exhibited at Siddhartha art gallery in 2012. The work was included in the exhibition was controversy in Kathmandu Nepal.
Private Collection in south India
Kali-Marilyn, acrylic on canvas 2016
Private collection: G. Baker UK
Exhibited at Welt Museum Vienna 2019, exhibited at Nepal art council 2019 Kathmandu
Kali-Marilyn portrayal of the fusing of two popular females asks the viewer to reflect upon the notion of appearances and the contexts of their immortalization. This painting breaks down social barriers by questioning our prejudices to inject the idea that we have more similarities than differences as human beings.
Untitled, Untouchable mountain, acrylic on canvas 2014
private collection: G. Baker UK
The work was inspired from the south Asian cultural and social issues. The artist paint kitchen and daily life utensils to share the story of statelessness as people being marginalised and take away their basic human rights due to caste system, political and economic conditions.
Kali-Odalisque, acrylic on canvas, 2016
collection: P. Pandey Kathmandu 2016
Exhibited at Welt Museum Vienna 2019, Nepal Art Council 2019 Kathmandu
Western pop icons play an important part in Manish Harijan’s art. Their recognisability in the contemporary world makes them accessible tools to reach a larger audience as he himself navigates the global through local cultural histories.
