Nakshikantha as a muse

Italian architect, professor and artist Nicola Strippoli Tarshito's solo art exhibition titled “Tarshito: Embroider the World” opens this evening (January 16) at Bengal Gallery of Fine Art, Dhanmondi, Dhaka. Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh Mario Palma will be the chief guest at the exhibition while Chandrashekhar Saha, President, National Crafts Council Bangladesh, will be special guest. In conversation with The Daily Star, the artist shared his experiences of working with Bangladeshi artisans, the exhibit and his artistic vision.

One can easily perceive the influence of indigenous heritage of different countries in Tarashito's works. He came to Bangladesh to attend a family event and later, with the help of Bengal Foundation, discovered the folk art of Nakshikantha. It left its mark on Tarshito and he thus incorporated the kantha stitches into his acrylic works.

“I look for the soul of the nation through the works of traditional artisans of Bangladesh, who are very simple in attitude and represent the beauty of the tradition. If you go deep into the Italian culture and Bangladeshi culture, you find one thing common: obeisance to the divine through the creation of art. We are the same in the case of finding love, space and life. We are different in material quest but same in spiritual quest. I am looking for the unity between you and me, between Italy and Bangladesh. And the earth is wonderful way to feel this, to understand this beautiful thing. For this reason, I roam around villages to see how the simple people embroider the world every day. Their artistic efforts seem like their prayers,” said Tarshito.  

Tarshito has done a wonderful job of weaving within his artwork the traditional Nakshikantha stitches particular to craftspersons of Jessore. With the help of Mahbub Zamil Shamim of Charupeeth, he was able to collaborate with a group of craftspersons of Jessore and produce the pieces for this exhibition. Chandrasekhar Saha has been invaluable in terms of providing him advice as well as overseeing the work of the craftspersons, over a period of six months.

Nature, people, daily life, as well as some mapping can be seen in Tarshito's work and the use of Nakshikantha lends an added dimension and brings his works to life. Although his work is contemporary in outlook, Tarshito has been successful in retaining the essence of traditional art, giving it a somewhat grounding effect. It's almost as if an implicit understanding is reached between the contemporary and the traditional.

The exhibition transcends geographical boundaries, race, religion, heritage and differing cultures, to chart a new course and open up new possibilities. The artist hopes to gradually showcase the works in India, Nepal and Europe.

The exhibition, open daily from 12pm to 8pm, ends on 30 January.