Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1086 Thu. June 21, 2007  
   
Culture


Exhibition
Artworks from North-eastern India


An interesting exhibition of works by artists from North-eastern Indian states was held recently (ended yesterday) at the Art Club Bangladesh. The exhibition titled Thoh Shun opens at the Dance and Music Teaching Centre, Dhanmandi tomorrow and will continue till June 27. The exhibit features a collection of the results of an art camp, which was held earlier in India. In the seven "sister states" of North-east India one sees a profusion of natural beauty and this has been captured on canvas with unique, quaint strokes.

Ibawanmon Lyngdoh's The image, mixed media on canvas, brings in swirls of colours, blues, greens and oranges. Within the lines and curves are careful motifs of humans, birds, kites, statues of seated Buddha, boats and cityscapes. Fine lines delineate the motifs.

Pnong Nrum's canvas shows a meditating girl inside the hollow of a tree. The girl is in vermilion pants and top. She is apparently waiting for someone. Behind her are houses, trees and hillocks. Lalremruata Varte's mixed media on canvas presents Lonely, a seated woman in a trailing gown. The painting has been done with swift strokes in blacks, whites and more vibrant reds and blues. Behind, is a suggested image of a woman in indigo, with a line of geometrical motifs on a bright pink backdrop. Texture work in the backdrop holds up the woman's image.

The dreamer by Raphaphang Sohliya has a seated man, covering his ears. Elephant tusks and a wriggling snake are also seen in the picture. Tlang Rokhuma's Woman and nature shows a bending woman, done with strokes of yellow and green to bring in nature. Federick Donbokiang Hynniewte's House has a thatched house with a red roof and green door. The sky has layers of jade while the ground is in red and orange. Two figures are seen behind the door. The quaint colours give a light, fantastic touch.

In Nathaniel Aliya's neat, stylised creation, one sees fruits and vegetables cut and arranged behind bars of yellow and white. The objects are painted on in a cubist fashion, with simplified forms. Priti Nartiang's Sunset is a mixed media work on cloth. Raphael Warjiri's painting brings in a stag on a cliff, standing before a waterfall. Behind the stag's horns are splashes of water and diagonal bars of velvet green and indigo blue that bring in hills and the sky. The artist's Myth has bamboo trees with delicate leaves and birds in the sky. The painting includes a winding path, with a walking figure.

Henhoiba Nongmaithm's Nature, mixed media on canvas, depicts a tree trunk and its branches, shaped like a woman in a long, swirling dress, with outstretched hands, seen against the sky with a full moon. It is in greys, browns and black. Careen J. Langstieh's Worship is in mixed media. It depicts devotees, bathing in the river to purify themselves.

Raphael Warjiri, the artist accompanying the exhibition, said that the workshop, which produced the paintings, was an eye opener as it included artists from outside India too. The exchange of views and ideas was very useful, he said.

Picture
Artworks by Raphaphang Sohliya (L) and Lalremruata Varte