The Artist in Me

Nehasha Pokhrel’s art pieces go beyond simple aesthetic beauty, and are reflections of her own emotions and aspirations.

I was born in Kathmandu but my upbringing is from Biratnagar which is why I always keep this place very close to my heart. Ever since my childhood, I have always known that I was a creative person but didn’t have any field where I showed any keen interest in. After completing my school here, I shifted to Bangalore for my further studies and better education prospects to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Arts. During my stay there, I had a pretty good job lined up for me as I worked in Emporio Armani as a fashion consultant but even during those times, I always felt it in my heart that something was missing and I am not serving the purpose that I am supposed to. I always wanted to do something meaningful and bring changes in the society, so I quit my job and came back to my home country where I started my volunteer work with VSO Nepal. During the time, I was very fortunate enough to get the opportunities to work in the remote areas of Nepal    in Baglung and Surkhet Districts    where I got to interact with children from the marginalized communities and work in projects that aimed to bring gender inclusiveness and equality in the society. 

As for my interest in painting, it came to me during the lowest times in my life and it sort of served as a purpose of an escape from the tough times I went through. I had no idea that I would be someone who could paint as I started by only scribbling colors on a paper to distract myself. As I got more involved, I started to realize how much it made me feel at peace. So I slowly shifted from water colors to acrylic paints and papers to canvases to channel my energy and thoughts into my art. It was such a continuous and spontaneous process and the rest just went with the flow.  
I recently participated in an exhibition and for me rather than fame or money, it was a self-help technique and a means for conveying the message in my art. I was actually taken aback when my paintings were the highest selling among all the other paintings. As overwhelmed as I was with all the appreciation and love that my art received, I was happier with the fact that it helped me feel content and helped me find who I really am and what I am meant to do. I still suffer from insomnia and panic attacks but now that I have my art with me, I feel really strong. 

Talking about my work, I initially started with blue and white colors as they always brought me peace and made me happy. I paint still water and waves and let all my emotions out when I paint. Then, gradually I shifted to more of acrylic colors and painted the beauty yet the suffering of women in our society. I wanted to focus on the mental health of women and how important it is to take into attention the seriousness of this problem. It was to address the controversy of how women in our society are always judged for their choices, their actions or I would say, simply for being a woman. Through my art, I want to bring light into these problems so that we would talk about the trauma that these women go through and come out of this. There are a lot of paintings that I would love to talk about but the one that is very close to my heart is  “Tridevi,” which is the story of three women where I have used vibrant colors to portray the beauty of women and their untold story. 
As for the future, I don’t know what it holds but I know that I aspire to be happy. The main reason I came to art was to get out of a low phase in my life and channel my emotions but now I plan to join art school and learn art professionally and continue to do what I love. 

I want to let people know how therapeutic art is and how it has helped me bring changes in my own life and teach them that no matter what kind of situation that they are in, they can always pull themselves out of it if they believe in themselves and continue doing things that bring them joy. For me, my art was become more that a platform for my sad emotions. Now, it is more about my happy emotions, women and their mental health and the positivity that I want to spread in the world through it.