Exhibition on Nepal’s lost God images begins

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu,Aug,1: A multimedia exhibition has begun at the Patan Museum. Hosted by the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign (NHRC), in collaboration with Chitrakar Legacy and Fire Studio, the exhibition titled ‘Absent Gods: Nepal’s Lost Heritage’ was inaugurated on Thursday. 

The exhibition curated by cultural heritage practitioner and art historian Cristeena Chitrakar will remain open for public till Monday.  

Held in conjunction with the International Conference on the Recovery of Cultural Heritage 2025, Absent Gods delves into the profound loss, displacement, and ongoing reclamation of Nepal’s sacred art and ritual icons.

Through rare archival photographs from the Chitrakar Legacy archive and documentation by NHRC, alongside immersive multimedia installations by Fire Studio, the exhibition presents a compelling narrative of devotion, cultural rupture, and the enduring call for restoration. 

Visitors will experience the journeys of the stolen deities, removed from shrines and temples and now held in foreign collections, vividly brought to life through 3D projection mapping, interactive digital maps, and a reflection space designed to evoke deep emotional engagement and civic consciousness.

 “This exhibition is not only about loss,” states curator Cristeena Chitrakar, “but about the living memory of our gods and the growing momentum to restore what was taken. It is an invitation to witness, to remember and to act.” 

She emphasised, "We are inviting the public to feel the magnitude of that loss— spiritually, culturally, and communally. These artefacts were once living presences in our homes, temples, and daily rituals, not relics for display behind glass.” 

Alisha Sijapati, Founding Director of the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and Conference Lead, said, “This exhibition asks us to confront what it means when gods are taken, when memory is interrupted, and when justice is delayed. Through immersive storytelling and historical witnessing, Absent Gods becomes a shared space of remembrance and resistance. It reminds us that heritage is not only about the past, but about our right to define who we are and what we carry forward.”

The exhibition's immersive experience has been developed under the creative direction of Nikesh Shrestha and the Fire Studio team, with design by Sworup Nhasiju Shrestha. 

Their digital storytelling expertise enhances the exhibition’s emotional depth, allowing visitors to not only observe but to feel, remember, and connect. 

The exhibition has been generously supported by Global IME Bank, Honorary Consul of Italy Pratima Pande, Bibhakar Shakya of the Bangdel–Shakya Foundation, Mangaldeep, and Erin L. Thompson.