Chiraag Shah

When I first visited Bhutan in 2018, it was through a government-approved tour. Every minute of my time in that small Himalayan kingdom was organised and curated by a tour operator, from the hotels in which I stayed to the restaurants in which I ate, and most importantly, the itinerary I followed. This is how all travellers must enter Bhutan, a policy which has been put in place to control mass tourism and mitigate its consequent effects, like environmental pollution and cultural commercialisation. Not much has changed since then, despite tourism contributing a significant portion of the country’s GDP. Admittedly, as a tourist, this transfer of responsibility can be enjoyable (it eases the burden of planning your own trip), but a mandatory requirement to follow government-approved tours limits how much a visitor can interact with the multifarious aspects of Bhutanese society. As yet, tourist autonomy remains restricted to what the guides are permitted to offer, and itineraries are set mainly to cover tours of the country’s natural and cultural heritage sites.

A large part of the motivation behind this strict policy lies in Bhutan’s determined effort to preserve its cultural traditions and safeguard its heritage against the ever-growing tides of modernisation and westernisation. The cultural homogeneity that results from this rapid globalisation is an issue which is frequently observed in many other parts of the world, especially areas of high tourism. Yet, this change is difficult to keep at bay, especially when we consider it as an inevitable consequence of our trajectory towards a more multicultural world defined by greater open-border migration. Safeguarding one’s culture against this encroachment is an admirable project, but this is also where the chief obstacle lies for the affordance a contemporary art scene in Bhutan. 

As in most other countries around the world, art is a big part of Bhutan’s cultural heritage, and traditional art styles are fragile knowledges passed down carefully from generation to generation. To the casual visitor, much of Bhutan’s available art scene can be found in its temples (Dzongs) in the form of Lhazo’s, murals which depict ancient stories from Bhutanese and Buddhist folklore. One such is this Lhazo depicting the famous story of the four friends.

Whilst a present-day Bhutanese artist may well draw from these influences (in both their technique and style) it does not mean that a contemporary form of Bhutanese art should emulate these movements entirely, at the cost of moving away from the existing cultural style.

One example of artists who are paving the way forward for a contemporary arts scene in Bhutan is the Thimphu-based duo “TWINZ,” comprised of brothers Tashi Dendup and Ugyen Samdrup. Since 2014, the duo have cultivated their own unique style which blends contemporary painting techniques with ancient Buddhist and Bhutanese motifs, symbols, and modes of artistic expression. Examples of this style are evident in paintings like Animal Totem and Holder of the Wisdom Sword which feature realistic portraits painted against a fluid, colourful backdrop that is evocative of the psychedelic movement in the 1960s. The point of intersection between the old and new comes at the junction between this more contemporary art style and the traditional motifs explored in the painting’s theme. In Holder of the Wisdom Sword for example, the sword signifies traditional Bhutanese values like leadership, courage, justice, and protection, while the image of an open-mouthed tiger, an animal that is recurrent in Bhutanese artwork and folklore, symbolises wisdom. The female character at the centre of the painting is seen holding a vase, the top of which is blue, which can be said to represent the nature of a pure mind, with the letter Tam representing the female Buddha of active compassion.

TWINZ’s artwork shows precisely what contemporary Bhutanese art may look like, blending rich cultural history with modernist painting techniques. Yet the artists themselves remain relatively lesser-known. For a contemporary art scene to take hold and gain popularity, both within the country and abroad, a solution may come in the form of a cultural tourism which centres and supports this burgeoning movement. As we’ve seen in the past, tourism has helped to give grassroots art movements an international reputation, as well as being a valuable source of income. But, if Bhutan is to open its borders to a freer model of tourism, it must do so with the confidence that its rich past and history will not be forgotten or overlooked, but rather integrated into the gradual changes occurring in contemporary Bhutanese arts and culture.