Shushank Shrestha

“Mana” meaning “inner self” and “dir” meaning “a place” are Sanskrit words for Mandir referring Temple.  

This paper is a personal reflection of my journey of transformation and self-discovery, centered on the exploration of what it means to be human in the present day. 

I use the idea of animism that every inanimate object has a spirit or a soul and we share this world with them. It is on the shoes we wear, it is on the gate we go through, a vehicle we travel in, it is on the stools we sit on, it is on the animals we adore, it is on all the insects that flies around us and it is on you and me. This belief reflects a deep appreciation and respect for the world around us and the divine energies that are present in it. 

For this exhibition I created a temple like space for the slip-on shoe as a head and human like body to show my respect for all the shoes I have worn throughout my life. Some of them being damaged or lost, while others have been left to collect dust in my shoe rack. Each shoe has its own value and personality, as if it is alive and happy to be on feet and protect.  

Cartoons and Disney animated movies has been a source of inspiration and fantasy for me. It is a way to convey emotions or ideas that may be difficult to express through other means. They transport us into a magical world free from the everyday stresses. The use of anthropomorphism in cartoons and animated movies and their visual aesthetic have always interested me. I find them highly imaginative and at times random, but these are the very qualities that serve as the foundation of my artistic practice, within which I been experimenting and creating a fantasy world through my art.  

As a person grows, they get so into their life that they start forgetting about their childhood days and how free their spirits were. I want my work to transfer that positivity to viewer while they experience this exhibition. 

SHUSHANK KALAPREMI SHRESTHA