Thinking outside the box
Talented artist Harun Ar Rashid Tutul is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Graphic Design, Faculty of Fine Art University of Dhaka. The dedicated artist loves to think and create new expressions in his pursuit of art. The artist received a grand award at the recently concluded Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2016. Here, Tutul shares his artistic journey, secrets of his award-winning work, thoughts on new media and more. Excerpt:
“Graphic design is important to me- it is my academic background and has helped me earn my livelihood. Works of various organisations like Britto Art Trust, together with that of many senior artists inspired me. Then I thought of portraying art based on the everyday objects I interact with, for example; my computer, set design materials, print media, motion, graphics, animation, interior and fashion designing tools. Art is meant to express a particular feeling that connects with others.”
“I tried to capture the essence of time in my work 'The Restless Waves of Time.' Although I sought support from my experience in applied arts, the idea took root when I was playing with my kids with toy cars in the living room. I thought of attaching the sculptures of human heads onto the toy cars.”
“There were awful challenges in every step of the way. Finding the best way to move the 12 sculptures driven by the toy car required the best rechargeable batteries. Otherwise the month long exhibition would need huge quantities of batteries. Later, I incorporated the technology of charger lights' battery with the toy cars so that only one battery was required for a sculpture. Again, finding the appropriate short-through projector was another challenge to cover the 1200 square feet space as it was unavailable in Bangladesh. Following many interesting twists I finally managed to procure it. I strongly believe that one must use materials that are environmentally friendly. Modernity constitutes whatever is beneficial to humanity and the world we live in.”
To depict his new media Tutul incorporated aesthetic digital drawings, binary codes, drawings of Kalighat Pats, compactness of rickshaw paintings, and explored the themes of colliding aspects of reality, crisis of modern man, the harsh reality of urbanisation, sacred symbols and more. Tutul has a fondness for conventional culture and tranquil country life. Being involved with many socio-political and cultural organisations, he feels art should not cater to hedonist purposes of fame and money.
Tutul first worked on new media in 2008 in a project called “One Square Mile”, organised by Britto. He has been extensively involved in performance arts. He has another work on road accident, placing canvas and colours on roads for vehicles to ply on, which were later displayed at Charukola. Tutul was the person behind the successful arrangement of Joypurhat Art Festival 2016.
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