Off the Beaten Track
The vast cross section of participants at last month's 15-day art camp steered by Rezaun Nabi, made for an exhilarating and enjoyable experience. Seeing the paintings lifted one's spirits and took us to a world of dreams and colours.
Sohana Shaareen's entrée for the exhibit were the forest trees with towering mountains in the distance. The variation of greens -- from jade to emerald, was mixed with pale leafy green and merged with earthy colours. It is not often that an artist looks with such a poetic vision at Nature. Sohana, in fact, believes in taking a respite in nature, away from the suffocating concrete jungle of the city. In man-made pleasure spots like amusement parks, things remain carefully structured and one does not feel the free as one does at Annapurna mountain range, where the artist had been to, to escape from civilization, to “be near the hauntingly beautiful Nepalese landscape” -- so close to Bangladesh.
Rezaun Nabi painted his temple with its arched entrée in grey, its houses near at hand in a frieze of dust brown, with a priest near at hand or a hint of a visitor, in knee length attire.
Afroza Jamil Konka has a beautiful woman with aquiline features, flower in hair, large earrings and a parrot resting peacefully on her shoulders. She has painted crows for the occasion, with a powerful impact —bringing memories of Rana Plaza and the thousands who needlessly lost their lives due to the callousness of the rich and powerful. The chiaroscuro effect of the composition is interesting.
The unusual display of dogs with wings, with large teeth and claws of prehistoric creatures make Golam Faruq Shawpan's creation dreamlike. The creature's eyes are a brilliant red, causing more terror for the onlooker. This black and yellow and red painting is dramatic.
The surrealistic creation of Mahababul Islam Babu, with a stampeding yellow horse and the checkerboard with a melange of men and horses in black is another breathtaking creation in Annapurna. In the backdrop, there is more checkerboard effect for the roof. You can almost hear the pounding of the horse's gallops.
The delicately growing brilliant red flowers by Fahmida Khatun speak of a spirited dash of creation. The flowers happen to grow on a looped piece of earth. Behind are flowers and impression of more blossoms. The piece speaks of rare exited adventure and brings in the freshness of the air around the creation.
Bipasha Hayat's painting of yellow ochre, burnt sienna images in a sea of pale colour is mind-boggling. Maqsuda Iqbal Nipa's red and gold creation remains a mystery and miracle. It is certainly awe-inspiring. Nazia Andaleeb Preema's painting shows ink and white blossoms amidst the wilderness to be found at the foot of the mountains.
Such work is surely worth preserving for times to come.
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