‘Anonymous-2’: Appreciating art without prejudice

The inauguration of "Anonymous-2: A Visual Art Exhibition" took place at Kala Kendra, Iqbal road in Mohammadpur on August 12. The event was graced by the presence of Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch, the director of Goethe Institute, Bangladesh. The curator, Wakilur Rahman in his welcoming speech talked about his initiative to work with artists regardless of their status.

"Anonymous-2" is a sequel to previously held "Anonymous-1". The purpose of the exhibition is to honour an artist's work irrespective of their age, experience, gender, social status, profession, and medium of choice. The exhibition features 150 pieces from 80 artists—both academic and non-academic artists, fine arts teachers, photographers, etc are part of this group—varying in gender, age, and economic backgrounds.

The idea behind the exhibition was to appreciate art without a preconceived notion about the artist, so that everyone's work can be judged fairly. Thus, the decision was made to identify different artists by numbers only, with each artist having two or three of their works exhibited.

Upon entering the first room in the gallery, the pair of square-framed detailed prints of machines in sepia, number 38, caught my eyes. Number 55 portrays simple yet intriguing concepts in greyscale. One of the walls holds a play of elegant textures and full abstracts.

Number 61 contains a bas-relief abstraction of Ajanta caves that the artist created from an old telephone book with the assistance of termites. The top view of both halls of Ajanta are drawn too. Number 26 has two large collages of old book pages and newspapers, depicting maps in history. Number 39 is a pair of map drawings with a sectional elevation and a sectional perspective of the Fine Arts Institute as the background.

Number 62 screams strong negativity through devouring monster plants. On another wall, number 36 and 37 soothe the mind with lovely blue and green hues. Number 29 includes huge, dominant rectangular pieces with a balancing contrast of colours and a unique composition of geometric forms.

Number 56 is a pair of photographs. In their pursuit of establishing a connection with the mundane objects they see on their way to school from a dorm in China, the artist captured a chili, lying near a junction for days. The corridor to the exit holds pretty paintings—portraits, flowers, and boats. Also, number 25 is a pair of alluring semi-abstraction of figures in slightly irregular brushstrokes.

The variation of sizes, shapes, mediums, and aesthetics gave this group exhibition much versatility. Kala Kendra will run this open-for-all exhibition every day from 4 pm to 8 pm till August 26. All artworks on display are up for sale.