Street Artists Paint Equilateral Triangles on Earthquake-Damaged Buildings in Nepal · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Triangolism in Kathmandu. Italian street artist Riccardo Ten Colombo painted equilateral triangles on buildings brought down by the earthquake. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
The streets of Kathmandu have become a canvas for a new form of art – equilateral triangles painted onto the dilapidated buildings brought down by the April 2015 earthquake.
Italian street artist Riccardo Ten Colombo collaborated with the Sattya Media Arts Collective — a resource centre for artists, filmmakers, photographers, activists, and other creative types in Nepal — and local artist Rupak Raj Sunuwar, known as Thugucheaa, to put up the equilateral triangles on buildings in the Thamel, Freak Street and Basantapur areas of Kathmandu.
According to Riccardo, the equilateral triangles symbolise stability and strength, and a wish for sturdy future construction of the neighbourhood.
Nearly 9,000 people were killed in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, and countless buildings were brought tumbling down. Riccardo said he was impressed by the Nepalese people's resilience following the tragedy. On Instagram, he recalled:
Here, where the inhabitants have lost relatives, friends, their homes and all their belongins, preliminary rebuildings are now taking place. As I looked around, stunned, unable to understand what might have really been the shakes, a man approaches me smiling, and pointing to some heaps of bricks he cries “welcome to my home.” Thats when I painted the rubble of the first triangle.
Welcome to my home “Triangolism in Kathmandu”  for @kolorkathmandu  Equilateral triangle, a symbol of stability and strength, a wish to the future reconstruction of these neighborhoods. I decided to paint in this area, in the center of Kathmandu, brought to its knees by the 2015 earthquake. Here, where the inhabitants have lost relatives, friends, their homes and all their belongins, preliminary rebuildings are now taking place. As I looked around, stunned, unable to understand what might have really been the shakes, a man approaches me smiling, and pointing to some heaps of bricks he cries "welcome to my home." Thats when I painted the rubble of the first triangle. Tnx to @thugucheaa @sattyamedia @kolorkathmandu #nepal #eartquake #triangolismo #kathmandu #italianstyle #triangolism #streetart #urbanart #ten
A photo posted by Riccardo Ten Colombo (@riccardo_ten_colombo) on
Working with Riccardo was a “great” opportunity, Thugucheaa said.
Screenshot from Instagram – See more images with hashtag #triangolismo
The Sattya Media Arts Collective is currently running a project titled Kolor Kathmandu to transform Kathmandu into an “open gallery”, so keep an eye out for more street art to pop up in Nepal.