Parts of machinery that will be used to display the long scrolls of painting scatter along the floor of the gallery. As Republica takes a ramble through the scrolls, wooden and iron machine parts and some framed paintings, he says, “I am pretty sure that scroll paintings have been in tradition for years in many parts of the world. But drawing on the scrolls of paper than on a fixed paper for me still feels like an invention.”[break]
“It may also be because I am working on creating these machines myself without any prior technical practice.”
While he sketches on inexpensive thermal roll papers commonly used for cash registers, he later on glues Nepali or lokta paper at the back to make it strong and machine friendly. He also uses special water colors for painting.
Most of his paintings are fast sketches that he drew from life. For four months, the Frenchman spent almost his entire days around Bhaktapur and Kathmandu, sketching people, temples, animals and anything that captured his attention.
Solé does not believe in perfectionism. He says artists should be free while painting. So while drawing on scrolls, he starts from one end and does not go back to correct anything.
His spontaneous sketches therefore tend to leave out many details and for the final product he has to edit many parts of the drawing.
“The fun about painting on scrolls is that you can cut out things that you don’t like and glue it again,” he adds.
Some of his scrolls tell a single story in series whereas some, like movie clippings, combine scenes from different places. His machines, too, vary from closed circuits that display scrolls continuously to open circuits with a beginning and an end.
Like films, his paintings are a succession of images that are zoomed in and out of details that he paints. Many of his paintings are accompanied by words. While some words are scribbled on the paper forming patterns that are beyond their literal meaning, some express Solé’s thoughts as he muses over the scenes he draws.
“Most of the times, I’m comparing Nepal with France and then sometimes they are just an exaggeration of my feeling,” he explained. “Basically, I guess they are just an inscription of a traveler’s thoughts,” he concludes.
Sole’s Tasafu – Kathmandu Scrolls starts February 26 at Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisted and will continue till March 19.
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