Photographer and University of Idaho student Youbesh Dhaubhadel is currently exhibiting his photography at the Aurora History Museum in Aurora, Colorado, from Feb. 18 to June 8. Titled “Confluence of Festivals: Temple Town to the World,” Dhaubhadel’s exhibit communicates the charm of Nepali festivals.
Originally from Bhaktapur, he captured the rich sense of culture from his hometown and the two neighboring towns of Kathmandu and Lalitpur. The philosophy behind his photography is to capture the commonality of humanity, and this exhibit is no different.
Dhaubhadel said, “What matters is the sense of belongingness, and it is the testament that as human beings, we all value that element of sharing with one another. In those festivals, we come together and forget all of our hardships, because people forget tough times when they come together.”
Through this exhibit, he aims to put Nepal on the map and encourage people to visit and experience the festivals for themselves.
“Through my art, I want to show that Nepal is a very small country,” Dhaubhadel said. “But I would want to show that Nepal is a rich country. Rich in culture. In terms of the happiness that people exhibit, those people are the happiest in the world.”
Before shifting mediums and focusing on photography, Dhaubhadel was originally an artist who painted and sketched.
“I realized that I could paint and draw sitting in a room. I don’t have to be present in the moment, I can draw out of my imagination,” he said. “But for photography, I have to be in the present moment. And that is one of the reasons I started photography.”
Dhaubhadel has now been a photographer for over a decade and is studying finance and economics at the University of Idaho. He said, “I am a photographer because I want to show things that I see through my eyes, and I want to be an economist for the sake of the country.”
His experience at UI has been enlightening, both within the College of Business and outside of it. “Being at UI has given me the opportunity to connect with a lot of people. We humans evolve with the ability to collaborate and communicate and surround ourselves with different cultures and traditions,” Dhaubhadel said.
These different cultural experiences are what fuel his work as an artist. He has found inspirational events on campus like the Lunar New Year celebration, Bangladesh Night, India Night and the Black Excellence Gala. Dhaubhadel explained one particularly meaningful experience he had when visiting the Nez Perce reservation.
“They introduced me as the child from the Himalayas and they let me photograph their Pow Wow. Isn’t that really beautiful?” He said. “It’s all because of the conversation that I was able to have with them, so I could share my stories with them and [use photography] to share their stories as well.”
Prior to coming to UI, Dhaubhadel was offered a position as the Production Lead and Art Director for the reality TV show, “Imagine Nepal.” Through this experience, he was able to capture the festivals outside of his hometown.
Dhaubhadel explained some of his work on the show. He said, “I had the privilege of documenting the Lumbini Province, which is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. I did this along with one of the veteran photographers of Nepal and my mentor, too.”
Dhaubhadel will graduate this May and thinking beyond his most recent exhibit, which is his first solo exhibit in the United States, he aspires to travel the world and photograph how people live in different places.
“I do photography because I don’t want to have limitations. The camera lets me capture what I see. I want to capture the smiles and humanity of people that I meet,” he said.
Dhaubhadel’s work can be found on his website at https://youbesh.com/.
Sophia Robertson can be reached at arg-life@uidaho.edu