‘Nude Carpet’ is my sixteenth solo art exhibition, happening at the Taragaon Museum from 12th -21st May, 2019. This is my most innovative  work– where I have used an old carpet as a surface of my painting. The idea behind this work is to signifying the importance of re-using and minimizing waste. The carpet which I have used was lying in my studio for more than a decade. It had lots of stains and was quite old. I was thinking of getting rid of it – but I did not know how.  Initially, I had two options- either to give it to someone (for reuse), or to dump it away – which I did not want to do, because of two reasons: first, I had built a connection with that carpet- as I had been working ‘on’ it for more than a decade. Second, I did not want to add waste on the dumping side, and further pollute our environment with such a big piece of carpet.

Then one fine day, I thought of converting into an art. I thought to myself – why don’t I rather create an art piece, and give it a life, instead of throwing it away. I finally decided to do so. But, it was not an easy task. I had never painted on carpet before. I usually paint on a canvas. The carpet that I have painted is quite big and thick. It is made of wool – which absorbed all the colors I put in initially. So, I had to pour in multiple layers of colors to give it a new look.

I have filled the existing pattern with bright colors. However, at the same time, I have kept intact the original print of the carpet, as it is. I did not want to change the texture, color, and the prints of the carpet into a complete new version. My idea is to showcase the carpet as it is – with a minimal artistic touch.