Jog Art’s Unconventional Journey

Chittagong can be described in many ways- it is a place which is known to the Europeans as Porto Grande or great port where the Arakanese and the Mughal fought for long to hold the city. It is a thousand-year-old hilly town soaked in myths surrounding the hills and rivers like Karnaphuli, Halda, Cheragi Pahar, Jhorna Tila, Jilapir Pahar, Tiger Pass etc. Its majestic landscape, too, has inspired many a writer, poet, musician and of course artist.
According to folklore, more than 600 years ago, Hazrat Badar Aawlia arrived at Cheragi Pahar floating in a stone. He chose the hilly area to spread the philosophy of Islam among the locals.
On September 20 and 21 Jog Alternative Art Space, a platform of young artistes, organised a two-day site specific exhibition titled “Cheragi Show-2” at Cheragi Pahar Lawn. For art connoisseurs it was a new way of looking at art while for ordinary people it was a source of amusement.
In the site specific art works an artist is occupied in investigation as a part of the process in making the art, which integrates live performance, documentary, video art, photography, installation, in a public place. “We want to take art out of the gallery walls and we called it the emancipation of art.”
Twenty four artists, writers and poets participated in the show with their innovative installations.Yuvraj, believes that the show is a representation of contemporary life that develops in and around Cheragi Pahar. Before the exhibition, Jog Art arranged a discourse on the history and anthropology and the outcome exhibited in the “Cheragi Art Show-2”. “The discourse helps us to comprehend the cultural and sociopolitical features of the area. We have gone through a detailed plan to understand both the functionality and symbolism of the historical place.”
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.
Zihan Karim, a participant of the exhibition, says that throughout the day, he saw how the crowd at first expressed curiosity, then bewilderment and finally started to enjoy the works. The enthusiastic crowds became part of the installation. “Not just our friends or invited guests, but other people, almost out of the blue, discovered that they were also part of art work. I believe that is why our show is so popular. And it turns into a cultural fair of exploring art.”
At the exhibition, at the main entry of Batighar, a book shop at Cheragi Pahar, the installation of a big “Zero” by poet Monirul Manir was displayed. 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.
One corner of the exhibition display’s a mirror installed on the net of multifarious faces with different expressions. All four sides of the mirror were tied to different segments of newspapers. The installation titled “Indrajal” by Hossain Mahmood Rocky, a final year student of Institute of Fine Arts of Chittagong University.
Afsana Sharmin Jhuma presented her thoughts with the theme “Azadi: Mukti” Afsana made a big net of newspaper with a torn portion from which hundreds of paper pieces narrate the truth that the people of the country won freedom by pulling apart the net of exploitation.

Wastage abstract, Palash Bhattacharjee.

Adda (Hanging out), Satabdi Shome.

Within a year, Jog Alternative Art Space has organised four group exhibitions in Chittagong and Dhaka. After their most acclaimed project Cheragi Art Show-1 they arranged a group photo-documentary show “Bakshir Haat” in Chittagong. Through this project Jog explored new media such as video documentary, installation and photography to unveil the prominent sites of Chittagong. The exhibition was the outcome of a workshop conducted by a photo journalist Kumar Biswa.
Bakshir Haat is a famous bazaar in Chittagong that binds together the folk life of cleaners, hawkers, fishermen, business activities, musician and urban living in one place. The show highlighted the importance of preservation of folk culture and legends. Through the lens, the artists presented their story in their own language including photo stories with video presentation and installations.
The bazaar has a historical significance since it is located near the Karnafuli River and has flourished with different professions. Once upon a time traders from all over the world came here for trading, mostly the Arakans, Portuguese and the Mughals. Due to their visit, cultural exchanges took place and the region became a hot spot for anthropologists and tourists alike. Bakshir Haat is a significant historical site due to its rich landmark, such as, famous mazaar of Badar Shah, the fort Anderkilla and many more.
Zahed Ali Chowdhury Yuvraj lamented the unplanned and rapid urbanisation that continues to erode the haat’s identity. “I was amazed to see their routine life. Besides, Bakshir haat is a secular space with mosques and temples in the same area. I captured the metaphor of human lifestyle.”
In the 1970s the art movement of Chittagong was started by Rashid Chowdhury and Murtaza Basheer. The movement got its second phase by Faizul Azim Jacob, Alok Roy and Abul Mansur. In the early nineties the contemporary movement started by Dhali Al Mamoon encouraged the young artists to develop its unconventional form of art in Cheragee Pahar.