Many miles to go

Artworks by Farah Deeba Zaman

Farah Deeba Zaman, who recently had her solo painting exhibition at the Russian Centre for Science and Culture, is a self-taught artist. She has, nevertheless, charmed her viewers with her paintings of portraits, still-life, landscapes and semi abstractions. Many of her paintings in her exhibition "Striking thoughts of a silent soul" are accompanied by lines of her poems, commenting and elaborating on her pieces.
Farah Deeba's lack of formal education in fine arts does not deter her in the least bit. With the support of her family she steers ahead, presenting her feelings, hopes and fears. With thick masses of colours, and using pieces of clothe or wood shavings the artist has presented her fancies and experiences. Often she deals with socio-economic problems or chapters of history such as girl child education, suppression of women, and the slaughter of innocents during 1971.
Her acrylic and mixed-media works on canvas, has been influenced by a student from the Institute of Fine Arts who tutored her for a few months. "Some of my works are related to ideas in my book of poems, which has been launched along with the paintings, such as the claustrophobic lives of the married women of Bangladesh. There are common scenes around us like high-rise buildings on one side and needy women with her children in tatters and begging bowls on the other. These haunt my mind. I present emotions like the many eyes of a tree full of envy, jealousy, happiness and sorrow. Just as humans see and feel, so does nature around us, I believe," says Farah Deba.
The painting 'Butterfly mind' stresses on the fact that our children don't have open fields with trees, flowers and clouds above to spend their innocent days in. The piece presents a delightful girl in a yellow dress, with the wings of butterflies behind her. Another piece presents a woman who has reached her present position in society only after a tremendous amount of struggle. The portrait, done in shades of dark red, brown and black, has nails on the eye-lids and all around the head.
"The third eye" is the delineation of the inner mind that searches the good from the evil, and longs for truth and beauty. There are happy scenes too like the "Country of birds" which presents innumerable birds flying above the sea and its sand. "Friendship under water" is the tranquil underwater world with contented fish moving at will. The water is done in waves of green and yellow while the fish is brown. Another canvas depicts a lonesome mermaid that symbolises the loneliness in mankind too. The fish scales are done with wood shavings.
"I've many miles to go and many discoveries to make," says the young artist.