'Rural faces, universal tales'

Ballads and Paintings
Abdus Shakoor
Publisher: Cosmos Printing and Publications

SOME often say, what's in a face? Well, everything really. Faces and expressions are the reflection of the life that we lead. Of course, mankind has perfected the art of camouflaging true feelings to opt for a more passive social image. But what happens when we are alone? Do we mask our inner feelings then? Or maybe secured in solitude we feel that since no one is here, the real expressions can now come out. Shakoor's Ballads and Paintings is a compilation of human expressions from different social settings from the one where we are always on guard to the one where we just let go and allow the real 'me' to emerge.
Now, this is an album of Shakoor's work which should not be mistaken for a brochure. Published by Cosmos Printing and Publications, the aim of the album is to give the art connoisseur artist Shakoor and bits of his own life.
One should call this an album because this is a collection of his works as well as a pictorial compilation of photos from the artist's life. To be more precise, let's just call this, Shakoor: art and life in one book.
Among the post liberation generation he is an icon and one of the masters representing a new wave of artistic thought in a free country. In 1970, Shakoor graduated from the College of Arts and Culture and so it is safe to say that his artistic impulses developed as Bangladesh moved on through turbulent periods after liberation. So, not just as an artist, as a human being too the artist is a witness to the ups and down of Bangladesh.
This compilation is in fact a look into human faces and true to all artists who study faces, Shakoor has also examined the subtle nuances in human expressions. Here, happiness does not vary too much from sadness and the difference is for the discerning to identify. But therein lies the adventure the thrill of deciphering possible human expressions painted by the artist.
Solemnity is a recurrent theme and at first glance, all expressions seem sombre and pensive. But it is the closer inspections that open up the subtle differences. Rest assured, there is no chance for you to get lost in melancholia because all that solemnity is thoughtfully balanced by a generous dose of colour. No, there is no place for drabness here.
Shakoor is the champion of rural life and the rich shades of village life are always there, providing the powerful background, sustaining a psychedelic charm.
And his subjects are inevitably women. An undeniable connection between women and earth is felt, though the feeling is purely philosophical. There are birds, animals, crop fields and all that rural Bangladesh stands for a visual celebration of the basics of Bengal rural life.
Interestingly, in the photo album where Shakoor is seen over the ages, his expression of choice is solemnity. Perhaps there is a link as to why his subjects are also the same?
Or maybe, growing up through volatile times, Shakoor has seen too much of the dark sides of life to keep on laughing like a joker. Whatever the case, for his works the seriousness becomes a power, but like this reviewer said earlier: look for the hints of happiness, they are there. You just can't miss them!
The album is available at Cosmos Centre, 69/1 New Circular Road, Malibagh , Dhaka-1217.

Enayetullah Khan is Editor in Chief, UNB.