Expressions of memories… nostalgic feelings

“When it comes to art I always like to explore and don’t stick with one medium,” says James Khati, an artist living in Lalitpur, who does a mix of media, photography, and sculpture.

He continues, “I don’t have any big sad stories when it comes to my art journey. All I remember is I have sketched during most of my free time since I was a kid. People around me were very supportive of that and that led me to join art school and completing my Bachelors in Art from Kathmandu University.”

He further explains his work as memories, nostalgic feelings, a catharsis approach by impasto technique of painting.

In his recent exhibition, Khati painted a room with navy blue colour to give justice to his work. He also had a piano playing in the background to connect all the art that was inspired by music and memories.

One common thread in Khati’s work is the use of iron. He explains how iron represents something strong from the outside, but when left unpolished, it rusts and loses its shine.

“It's like how people look tough from the outside. What one does not realise is that men often are unable to express their emotions which at times kill them from within,” he adds.

When asked about the use of flowers made of iron Khati explains that he does so to illustrate something delicate and soft in nature but which is very strong from the inside.

He further states that his art is a work of melancholy, which he finds soothing.

In one of the works in his collection, Khati tries to express feelings that are bigger than him. He says, “The big metal roses represent the feelings which I could never fight and run away from. Roses are something that inspire my work as they take me back to the time when someone special gave me three dead roses.”

He explains how he visits his past through his art. “Most of my work captures the feelings that I experienced at a particular moment of time, the rush of emotions and what I learned then. My art is basically a feeling of burning pain which helped me grow as an artist and made me a better person.”