Some of the most recognizable figures in Nepal are its deities. They take the form of sculptures that are prominently displayed in temples. But the 2015 Nepal earthquake destroyed historic structures and shattered priceless artworks that took years to restore.
Tsherin Sherpa, an artist from Nepal, was in California's Bay Area when the earthquake occurred. After seeing images of the deities’ limbs fall apart, he decided to take that tragedy and turn it into art, such as his piece of a nearly 400-pound sculpture with disembodied deity hands in a cluster together.
“Destruction doesn't mean it's the end; it's a regeneration,” he said.
The exhibit, called “Divine Disruption,” is on display at the Honolulu Museum of Art until January 2027. It includes 20 artworks from Sherpa’s collection, including paintings, sculptures and a carpet.
Sherpa was born into an artist family in Nepal. He studied Tibetan thangka painting — an art form practiced in the Himalayan region that incorporates Buddhist teachings — with his father.
When he moved to the U.S. in the 1990s, he was exposed to more art forms such as street art.
“I explored something beyond the traditional practices that gave me the courage,” he said. “I wanted to use that very skill to talk about contemporary issues, not just perilous paintings.”
Sherpa's artworks aim to blur the line between sacred and secular by taking a more than 1,000-year-old traditional art form, such as thangka painting, and adding pop culture and social issues to it.
There's a recurring character he calls “Spirit.” His grandmother’s stories inspired the idea for this character. Sherpa said there's a belief in the Himalayan region that spirits live in the mountains and water valleys. He always wondered what would happen if the spirits, like himself, were to move away from their environment to live elsewhere. Thus, the character was born.
"It's as if the spirit arrives in this new place and is trying to readjust themselves in this new environment,” he said.
There's no real name for the spirit. Sherpa said the artwork behind the character was inspired by traditional thangka paintings, comic books and Bollywood billboards.
There are three artworks in the exhibit he created and dedicated to Hawai‘i. One painting is called "The Portrait of the Spirits." There are two male and female characters in the foreground sitting on antique furniture. In the background, there are people living their daily lives in Nepal.
“I felt there's a strong commonality between Hawaiian culture and Himalayan culture … We always worship nature,” he said. “We also have this traditional art form, which is drawn out of inspiration and stories.”
In another part of the exhibit, there is a traditional iconography rug. Sherpa said there has been a decline in local designs of Himalayan rug weaving because of Western influences. So he collaborated with a company to create the rug with Himalayan iconography using Himalayan wool, Indian cotton and Chinese silk.
One of Sherpa's largest pieces is next to the rug in the galley. It’s a large-scale painting, called “Himalayan Spirits,” that has 11 deities representing 11 zodiac signs. While there are actually 12 zodiac signs, Sherpa said he wanted the viewer to be the twelfth sign.
Sherpa drew inspiration of the deities poses from people doing TikTok dances.
Tyler Cann, the Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at HoMA, said Sherpa’s art is a way to engage with the world in a contemporary way, and that viewers in Hawai‘i can relate to it.
Cann also said Sherpa’s work has revitalized traditional art through his migration experience.
“Even though he has disrupted those traditions in his own work, he has given work to artisans, artists who may otherwise have had to emigrate from Nepal to become perhaps manual laborers in a different country,” he said. “It's always wonderful when contemporary artists who gain some acclaim can since go home and really, you know, cultivate relationships and revitalize traditions where they come from.”
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