‘Hawabibi In this City’: A cry against patriarchal toxicity

"Hawabibi In this City", a solo exhibition by artist Shaily Shrabonti, was officially inaugurated at La Galerie of Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) during the warm evening of last Monday (August 25). Shaily is a Dhaka-based visual artist who holds a BFA and MFA in Oriental Art from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Her art reflects the struggles, resilience, and success of women in patriarchal societies. 

"Hawabibi In this City" is made up of a series of paintings created as a rebellion against patriarchy. Hawabibi is a reimagined character inspired by the Abrahamic religions. Through the skills and mind of the emerging artist Shaily Shrabonti, Hawabibi lives as the spirit of modern women, still chained to the flawed, soul-crushing system that leaves no stone unturned to deny and ignore women's freedom and their contributions. 

Shaily's Hawabibi is dressed in an abaya and hijab—traditional Arabic Muslim attire—despite being Bengali and living in a hot, humid region. The artist is not against the veil itself, but she criticises those who weaponise it to confine women indoors, denying them financial independence and restricting them to household chores, childbearing, and child-rearing. Yet her Hawabibi attempts to break these shackles, or at least adapt to them.

Shaily has used translucent watercolour wash and crisp ink lines to create a Hawabibi that represents the modern nature, wrapped in roots, protecting the trees, the birds, the flowers in orbs. In a specific art, Hawabibi is carrying a different, western version of her own self called "Eve" in a blue orb, as if to show that the avatars might be visually non-identical, but residing in the same subtly visible cages.

Several artworks in the exhibition feature a red background with only black-and-white figures. The artist explained that she chose this colour to depict feminine rage. In one among those, Hawabibi even appears as Durga, the Hindu goddess of power, with ten arms. Some of Shaily's pieces were created during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led her to pursue a more economical approach—using local mats as canvases for some of her acrylic paintings.

Shaily Shrabonti loves to work with symbolism. Her Hawabibi is a symbol of resilient women in a world of patriarchal dictatorship and gender discrimination. The exhibition is a wondrous reflection of our society, and an eye-opener for every visitor. AFD will run this exhibition till September 3, 2025. 

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