Voyage of Nature
Most of Rahman Sami's paintings, dreamlike and nostalgic, have been done on sight. Rain and thunder are integral part of the pieces. Imagination has gone into much of his work.
Fifty percent of the paintings have been done at Zahing Xi Province, in the old city, in China where Sami and other students from India and Pakistan (foreign students) at the China National Academy of Fine Arts 2014 September had gathered together to work.
Earlier he had gone to China through a government scholarship. At present he is doing his MFA through a Chinese Government scholarship. While doing his BFA from Bangladesh, Rashid Amin and Shahjahan Ahmed Bikash had been his teachers and guides.
All the houses were around 400 years old at the Zhiang Xi Province. In the 'Old House' and 'Old street' which have three paintings each, there is a rickshaw. “The people like to sit and warm themselves outside” says Sami. “There were cobbled stones, tubs of bushes , clothes hung out to be dried, electric wirings and Chinese type slanting rooftops. Most of the houses were of wood.
In West Lake China, near his university (National Academy of Fine Arts), the typical willow trees could be seen sweeping down to the water. Visitors could be seen rowing leisurely in boats some of sami’s paintings reflect these dreamy scenes.
The Shang Rao village has red fire in paper, paper in air. There are the traditional rickshaws plying the roads. “They are unique, larger and different from ours” says Sami. Done in the countryside the paintings show unimaginable part of country life.
'Gusty Night' has water flowing in a diagonal way. Rickshaws are making their way through. Rickshaws struggle their way through the downpour.
In the piece 'Farmer's House' there are trees at the back . The sky at the back is done in brown and black sweeps. The houses are quaintly straw-covered. Clothes are hanging out to dry. We find sketchy bushes in front of the house. Some men enter through the nearby road. The effect is somewhat like a Grimm's fairytale.
'After the bath' has brown and white ducks . It is black and white at the back with green weeds down the river front. The sky at the back is a dreamy blue and white.
'Jahangirnagar University' has ruby-red water lilies with a magical, mystical waterfall to add harmony and romance to the composition.
His work brings old Dhaka and places in China like part of an idyllic frozen dream, which should be preserved for all time as fragments of a symphony. The colours remain balanced and muted, with only a bit of ruby red visible. Similarly the jade and emerald green are placed with the aquamarine to heighten significant points. The burnt sienna and amber of the old houses merge with the white and grey in the cobbled stones of the pathways. The skies are above billowy clouds. At times these skies mingle and merge with the dark mountainsides, as when the Bandarban landscape is brought in. Sometimes the giant sweeps of colours in the cascading waters, mingle with the sky, creating magical effects.
Rahman Sami is yet another artist who believes in taking shelter in Nature. For Sami, Nature is the source of all comfort and hope.
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