Man's mechanised existence
Biplob Kor's first solo exhibition
Fayza Haq
Biplob Kor has tried to give his work a new angle, using parts of digital machines in his paintings. Artworks by the young artist were on display recently at the Zoom Gallery of Alliance Francaise at the exhibition Binary Oppositions. In the series Automaton, Biplob has tried to show the relationship between man and machine in the 21st century. He has taken different parts of the computer and used them as collage in his paintings. "Man and machine are two different things that are coexisting," Biplob says. In Alternate generation-2 he has presented peoples' current preoccupation with test-tube babies. The piece shows a large foetus surrounded by smaller ones along with instruments and machines. "I'm merely presenting what is taking place today. I'm not moralising or taking sides," he says. Automaton-5 has a machine placed on a human head. Several wheels have been used in the composition. Everything is grey, black and brown. Automaton-1 is a conglomeration of machine parts arranged around the image of a moon, which suggests that today even a romantic image can be mechanised. "This is the era of machines," Biplob stresses once more, "machines are made by men but today men have become totally dependent on machines." Another painting contains a head with paper in different colours -- red, yellow brown and black -- falling all over it. Digital time-3 shows a Shadhu (holy man) in red, reading a palm. "Old beliefs and new, coexist," Biplob comments. The human figures are surrounded by digital codes. Automaton-3 deals with the subject of test-tube babies again and contains small human limbs. Automaton -2 features a human figure that is connected to many machine parts. These paintings are in sombre brown, black and white. Biplob has been influenced by Cubism's collage along with Dadaism. Picasso and Dali are his favourite artists. In Bangladesh, Dhali Al Mamun, Nisar Hussain and Mahbubur Rahman are his artists of choice. Artist Rashid Amin says, "Biplob tries to do something which is different. He breaks up images of machines and mingles them with human forms. This gives the effect of collage. He tries to show how man has become mechanised in an allegoric manner. He is definitely unconventional." Nisar Hussain says, "I was one of Biplob's teachers in his Master's studies in UDA. He was encouraged to go into new fields. He has incorporated three-dimensional objects in his two-dimensional paintings. Biplob has taken part in eight major group exhibitions.
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