Innovative installations wrest attention

Art connoisseurs, curious passersby and familiar faces of Cheragi Pahar, where the port city's intellectuals, young writers and media people gather to exchange notes on socio-cultural and political issues, witnessed a remarkable Site Specific Art Exhibition on September 20-21.
Jog Alternative Art Space, a platform of young artistes of Chittagong city, organised the two-day exhibition titled “Cheragi Show-2” at Cheragi Pahar Lawn with support from Chittagong City Corporation (CCC).
Twenty four artists, writers and poets participated in the show with their innovative installations. A number of visitors discovered a new dimension of art at the exhibition, while others termed it a free medium of entertainment and arts.
At the exhibition, on the main entry of the old Batighar, a book shop situated at Cheragi Pahar, stood the installation of a big “Zero” by poet Monirul Manir. The installation has been created with iron, paper, plastic threads, colour and saline bag. “The human being originates from Zero and finally ends in Zero”, explained Monirul Manir.
On one corner of the exhibition was a mirror installed on the net of multifarious faces with different expressions. All four sides of the mirror were tied with different segments of newspapers. The installation titled “Indrajal” was conceived by Hossain Mahmood Rocky, a final year student of Institute of Fine Arts of Chittagong University.
Afsana Sharmin Jhuma who took part in the open exhibition with the theme “Azadi: Mukti” said she made a big net of  newspaper with a torn portion from which hundreds of paper pieces narrated the truth that the people of the country won freedom by pulling apart the net of exploitation.
Exhibition curator Shaela Sharmin said every participant studied the history and  characteristics of the familiar faces of Cheragi before the exhibition.
Shaela who is also a teacher of the Fine Arts Institute of CU said, “Cheragi has a certain uniqueness and local materials and subjects have been used and selected for the display”.
Fine Arts Institute teacher Zahid Ali Chowdhury Yuvraj's work “Nittyo Bashobash”, Palash Battacharjee's “Wastage Abstract”, poet Ahmed Munir's “Nirapod Tandra” and Zihan Karim's “Ahetuk Etharer Gaye lege thake shobdho” also received appreciation from the visitors.
Such exhibitions enable young artistes to express their talent, remarked Sharmin Rahman a cultural activist who visited the exhibition.
“It makes me feel good that everybody is part of the exhibition and it is the art of democracy, “said Raphael Jaeger, director of Alliance Française de Chittagong after visiting the exhibition.