A mirror to an increasingly chaotic city

Art works on display.

Artist Murshida Arzu Alpana lives and works in Berlin. She frequently comes to Dhaka and her last solo painting exhibition was held at Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts in 2006. Her latest solo painting and installation exhibition, titled “Drinking Bottle Water and Breathing Dust Only,” is now on at Goethe Institut, Dhaka. The exhibition opened on April 5. Urs Herren, Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh and environmentalist Nazrul Islam, among others, attended the inaugural session.
Alpana is a socially aware painter and her themes mirror various social, political and environmental issues. The artist is concerned about the state of Dhaka and the rapid changes it is going through. She feels that this fairly old city, which was once ecologically sound and enjoyed a healthy environment, is gradually losing its glory.
Alpana has used various mediums and techniques to express her views on the subject.
Most of the works at the exhibition are oil and mixed media on canvas. Sizes of the canvases vary according to themes and compositions. Her figure-oriented works are expressive and themes are closely related to conceptual art. Her modes of expression are realistic and semi-realistic. Nude and semi- nude figures, boats and water lilies are recurring motifs. The drawing-based works are engrossed with meticulous lines and forms.
“It's obvious that the current state of environment of this city is far from satisfactory. If I recall my visit to Dhaka five years back, the city has now become increasingly chaotic and unclean. I think it's high time we discuss and focus on this particular issue,” said the artist.
The exhibition ends on April 22.