image009A solo art exhibition, titled ‘Divine Debris’, which features work by Meena Kayastha is currently on display at Siddhartha Art Gallery in Babarmahal in the Capital. The exhibit features 19 paintings, where the rubble from last year’s quakes serve as canvases. Most of the paintings feature Hindu gods and goddesses as subjects, highlighted by a series of Nava Durgas painted on traditional wooden doors. Kayastha said that “after the April 25 earthquake, Bhaktapur was utterly devastated, particularly its wooden artefacts—for which the city is famous for. I wanted to turn these debris into art.” Besides using traditional wooden doors as a base, the artist has also made use of shovels, lawn mowers and bicycles and morphed them into goddesses like Vaisnavi, Kumari, Bhrahmayani, Barahi, Indrayani and gods such as Swet Bhairav, Ganesha, and Yamaraj, among others. Speaking on why she chose Navadurga series as the focal point for the exhibit, she said, “I chose Navadurga because they are the protectors of Bhaktapur city and I chose the doors for the base because they also symbolise protection that shields one from the external threats.” She added, “Further, I aim to point out the hypocrisy in our society where real women are treated as second class citizens, whereas goddesses are worshipped in almost every corner of the country.” The exhibit will conclude on January 11, 2017.