A rage of colours from young art aspirants

The "Sunbeams" students' recent exhibition at "Drik" was naturally not as mature as the earlier one by two teenagers, Lamia and Rohena, nor as stirring as the one by Aadil Hoque at "Arial", nor even as moving as the exhibit of the underprivileged children's work seen at the Goethe Institut some months back. Yet it too had its promise and deserved accolades for the steady experimentation and the choice of colours which burst with joie de vivre.

There were prints with spray at the back with objects in white by Tusmit Hassan and Prianka Chowdhury. Here one saw white leaves against a background of dots of blue, red, orange which were scattered all over the white paper. Impressions of leaves in red and brown along with flowers seen in blue and scattered delicately all over the background of beige, brown and red spray were also found. Maisha Khan's spray had the spaces left empty where the flowers and leaves had been placed. There was the impression a large leaf to the left and smaller ones along with scattered flowers at the back and front. The colours used there were bright pink, orange and blue which came in the backdrop. As we saw more spray work there were the works of Shazia Maeen, and Anila in which one found once again the use of leaves to from the motifs, with leaves being placed sidewise and tinier flowers in front. The spray was in shocking pink against white and the portion which was left empty brought in the patterns of the white leaves. More flora were seen in an artistic manner in her other works so that there were leaves to the left, centre and back, with flowers scattered all over. Where the flowers and leaves had been placed, those portions were obviously in white with their bright settings of blue and mauve. In Sabahnaz Rashid's work had more imagination and skill as they brought in dancing figures of children holding on to balloons. This was in white against a spray of mauve, crimson and purple. In Rifyat Mahboob's work also contained floral patterns for the spray experiment the spray being red, with the objects in white.

In blow painting one saw the works of Aqil Veer and Kashfia Jalil. In Aqil's work one found a large range of colours that varied from blue, purple and green to yellow. They were scattered in a manner that were chaotic and at the same time made a design of a sort with a red centre and extended blue curling lines emanating from the middle. Dots and splashes were also to be found in the work to lend more interest. In Kashfia's works one found more purple, green and bleu on white in one rectangular splash across the white paper. In Nusrat Khondokar's work one found a spray of blue, red, and orange scattered all over, with some green in front and back while the background of the paper was white to offset the colours.

Going on to scratch picture in which one found a picture by Tasfia Zaman, Hazra Hafiz, Tarnuma Tabassum, Asim Iqbal Rehan and Zarin. In one of the pictures one found beautiful houses and flowers of the same proportions with the sun and clouds at the back of the houses. In Zarin's creation the trees were done in a combination of green and pink, the pink flowers went well with the leaves while the blue background and the sun against the black brought in good texture. In Tarnuma Tabassum's work one found motifs that had originated from "alpana" and the designs of henna that one puts on the hand during Eid, weddings and other festivals. Butterflies were found with floral motifs, paisley motifs and geometrical designs were all neatly included in the composition. These were done in orange, red, blue against a black background appeared quite artistic, considering the age of the painter. Asim Iqbal's work was also quite interesting and thought-provoking where one found a scene of a man with a boat with trees behind him. Fish and waves were included on the paper, along with clouds in the sky, and this creation was in orange, yellow, green, blue and red. Tasfia Zaman's work one found a scene with butterflies, flowers, leaves, caterpillars, houses, and trees. This was in green, mauve, orange and blue, As we moved on to Hazra Hafiz's presentation, one found a complete scene with a cow, house, haystack, trees a banana tree unfolding with all its splendour, as well as airplane and the rising sun. This too was done against a black backdrop. We moved on to another display, where the signature, "Amina" was not quite clear, but one was confronted with many exquisite motifs, such as flowers, twirling geometrical designs, and other patterns completed in yellow, red, and green against black.

In the black and white symmetrical designs, in Farhana's work, one saw the creations of illusion with black and white squares, with stripes, rectangles so that you felt that you were facing some staircases leading on to mazes. This was in black, white and blue. The work by Tamanna Hossain was in gray and white and contained floral motifs in geometrical forms combined with other rectangles, triangles, one motif juxtaposed carefully into another. Tasqira Sattar's attempt brought in more geometrical forms in dots and squares in blue and white. Similarly, Raisa Chowdhury's work delighted one with floral and geometrical motifs while in Sabiha's work one found once again geometrical patterns which also kept flowers in mind, using blue upon white, and white upon blue, with intermingling squares of blue. Tahsina's work, in the same manner, brought in neat designs with a play of geometrical shapes with rectangles which had been cut into triangles, which one found in mosaics and tiles quite often in the 50s and 60s in the homes of the bourgeoisie.

In sand paper print depictions there was Maisha's flowers in pink and orange with purple and blue centres; these had been put in a multicoloured vase with spectrum of hues ranging from orange, blue, green and pink to mauve. The backdrop was also coloured with gray and blue. In Maisha's other entry there was yet another container which was beautifully decorated with blue, orange and red twirls, swirls and glides of scintillating shades. The flowers in the vase were striking purple, blue and red while the stems and leaves had also been carefully included by one so young. Ahnaf's work brought in the same theme with different patterns on it that those of Maisha's efforts. The motifs and simple splashes comprised of the use of blue, orange, yellow and green. The flowers had neat petals of orange with their dark centres and supporting green leaves all around.

More splashes of colours were included in the background which consisted of vibrant pink, brown and blue. Ziauddin's work consisted of a multicoloured vase, yet again, with flowers arranged on it with harmony and dexterity, set on a background of orange.

Arshia's work too contained the same theme but had a different use of colours with the vase containing blossoms in shocking pink, blue, orange, turquoise and green. The flowers appeared almost semi-abstract while the background had chutney green, bright pink, baby blue and jade green. In Akma Chowdhury, Tazrian's and Anika's works had the same subject and these too were colourful, decorative, and appealing for the choice of shades used. The works spoke of skill and imagination. Faiza Himayat and Adnan had done the same type of sandpaper print in which their use of red and green with parrots with brown breasts, gray and blue beaks and emerald wings in the backdrop of Himayat's creation. Adnan's yellow flowers with its russet backdrop appealed more due to its more subtle choice of colours after the overtly flamboyant works of the others who had experimented with sand paper work.

Moving on to normal paintings, in Subha's work we found a protest march with flags and posters. The figures with their multi-coloured clothes were done in crayon while the multi-storied houses at the back and trees were brought in more subdued shades. Maisha had done some calligraphy which had been set on a background of lotus, some of which were painted over and some left in their crayon stage. The painting contained pink and purple colours, while the lettering was in matching shocking pink and mauve, while the blue and green background had been divided into four neat square sections. In Zibran's work one found more subtlety, even though he was a student of Class IV, and this was in pink, set on a pond with background of leaves and stems done in greenish-blue and yellow. In Sabbir's painting one found "kaash" flowers in white and gray with leaves of green, including the depiction of a boatman with his setting of the sky complete with floating clouds and the sun. In Faiza's creation one found mustard fields, butterflies done in yellow and orange and complete with blue dots, "kaash" flowers, outlined carefully with black, and other little white blossoms of jasmine with delicate orange stems. In it were soft splashes of blue, green, brown and twirls of blue to bring in the river and the sky. Mahira's painting looked almost semi-abstract with yellow, blue, red, orange and green circles, and semicircles as well as ovular shapes that were interwoven into one another, representing fish, boats and the flag of Bangladesh. Brown and black had also been used to offset the bright colours. Noreen Mojumdar's presented a neat set of flowers ranging from pansies, daffodils, sunflowers to many more like zinnias. Butterflies too had been included. The wall at the back had trailing creepers while the gate to the garden was as neat and precise as the rest of the composition. The artist had used orange, yellow and mauve which had been clearly outlined with precise lines. The blue sky and the gray path leading away from this idyllic creation had not been left out. In Zima Islam there were trees, houses, boats and sky had been done with aesthetic precision in blues and black as well as brown. The river nearby had been brought in with shades of gray and blue, while the sky had a greenish yellow sun. In Nafisa's painting one saw a young man resting under a tree with his knapsack beside him. This too had an aura of tremendous tranquility emanating from nature in the countryside.

The exhibition brought in the expertise of many young aspirants in the art world and was simply vibrant with colours, shapes and forms. Both the teachers and students deserved praise for the precise paintings.