The photography and video exhibit by Sudip Shakya is on display in the Laverne Krause Gallery in Lawrence Hall until Friday, but he says the pictures on the wall, or the thousands in his collection, are not his artwork.
“When I saw my brother – that’s my artwork,” he said.
Last spring, Shakya had the opportunity to receive a University degree, but he said something seemed to be missing from his college experience.
“Heck, stop wishing to see my brother and go see him,” Shakya said he thought to himself one day. “And that’s what I did.”
“To make sure dreams come true, you have to be more ambitious,” Shakya said. “For a while, I didn’t think I could do it.” It had been 16 years since Shakya had seen his brother, Subin, in Nepal. Shakya moved to the United States with his family in 1989. His brother remained in the family’s native country but planned to move to the U.S. in 2001, but an unstable Nepali government andthe attack on the World Trade Center disrupted his plans.
Last fall, Shakya traveled to Nepal for a month and a half to see his brother and experience his home.
Shakya recalled seeing his brother for the first time in 16 years: “I didn’t know what to make of it. I thought, ‘Should I hug him?’ I was kinda teary-eyed, just thinking ‘there’s my brother.’” Shakya also met his new sister-in-law for the first time.
“If Nepal calms down on time I am hoping he and his wife will attend my graduation,” Shakya said.
Once the surprise of seeing his family wore off, the shock of being in a foreign land hit him.
“I grew up in the U.S. thinking I’m Nepalian, but when I went there I was a tourist,” Shakya said.
The first shock was taking a taxi through the hectic Nepalian roads with no lanes. The driver told him, “This is how we ride,” Shakya said.
The taxi ride is included in the 40-minute video of Shakya’s trip. He filmed and edited the video, which is part of his exhibit this week. Shakya recently finished an internship at Eugene’s Polara Productions, which broadcasts “Nanna’s Cottage” for Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“Usually our interview process lasts a long time, but I knew 15 minutes into (my interview with Shakya) he was who we wanted,” said Davey Porter, executive producer of the show.Porter praised Shakya’s work ethic and said it was incredible for the whole crew to have him on the set.
“Especially with all the turmoil in Nepal, having to deal with his background … he did everything we asked,” Porter said. “I don’t know if I could show as much grace under pressure.”
Also included in the gallery are six pictures of Nepal. Shakya’s favorite is a small girl kneeling by a black dog in Sankhu, a city 10 minutes outside of Kathmandu.
The final piece of the exhibit is a hanging light holder with a small statuette of Budda in the center. It was a present from his brother, “for good luck.”
On his trip, Shakya said he did some soul-searching by visiting a peace pagoda in Lumbini and Swayambunath Temple in Kathmandu, both trips are pictured in the gallery. The temple is “one of the most important temples for a Newer Buddist like me,” he wrote in a photo description.
“My whole project itself is not here,” Shakya said next to his gallery exhibit. “It’s inside me.”

Contact the people, faith and culture reporter at [email protected]