Anisuzzaman Sohel's “Intimate Fears” opens tomorrow

“Intimate Fears”, a solo exhibition of drawings, objects and installations by Anisuzzaman Sohel opens tomorrow in the capital's Bengal Art Lounge. The exhibition will be jointly inaugurated by Greg Wilcock, High Commissioner of Australia to Bangladesh and eminent artist Shishir Bhattacharjee.

The second solo exhibition of Anisuzzaman Sohel, “Intimate Fears” continues to delve upon foundational themes in the artist's oeuvre: the alienation of the individual, the yearning for nature, the overwhelming power of systems – be they economic, political or military. Grim and often morbid, subjects in Sohel's artworks comprise weapons, mutilations and skulls of various types and shapes. But the viewer is not presented with the clichéd dramatic renditions usually associated with these motifs: the lines in Sohel's drawings are clear, the finishing of his objects immaculate. In this discrepancy lies the striking, powerful paradox of the artist's research; an apparent contradiction that gives poignancy to his works.

The relationship to nature, or the longing for it, offers a point of entry into the artist's “Intimate Fears”. Several artworks oppose the delicate rendition of natural motifs to man-made constructions. 

“Intimate Fears” will be the final exhibition at the Bengal Art Lounge. The Lounge will close its doors at the end of this show, although its mission to encourage and nurture the development of the newest forms of artistic expressions in Bangladesh will continue through other, non-profit endeavours supported by Bengal Foundation.

The exhibit runs from May 7-June 4 from 12-8 pm.