Capturing the cadences of the countryside
It wasn't easy for Nurul Islam to be an artist. He supported himself as a student by working as a cub reporter and illustrator. Zainul Abedin arranged a stipend for him, which helped him enormously. His teachers in 1950 were Zainul Abedin, Anwarul Huq, Shafiduddin Ahmed and Qamrul Hassan. In 1964 he got a job with the prestigious ad firm J Walter Thomson in Karachi. After the 1965 war he had to get by with odd jobs until he got the post of the director of The Gallery, returning to Dhaka in 1970. Today, after more than three decades, he works as a freelancer with an outlet for interior decoration, doing items like decoration of stalls in the annual trade fairs.
In Nayyori, done in tempera, we see a bride being taken to her parent's house for a visit. The picture presents action in the depiction of movement of two bullocks. In Mother (mixed media) we have the Madonna theme with the woman in a green sari. Behind her are three bars in brown, green and purple. In Meeting-2 we see a farmer taking time off to see his beloved. The woman's clothes and jewellery are done in detail, while her nails are painted and her lips are bright. The figures are presented in distorted forms, retaining their integral beauty. Details like his amulet and her jewellery are shown in graphic details.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Meeting-1 is once again the farmer and his beloved, getting together despite the pressure of work. The figure is simplified and distorted. The clouds are large expanses in the backdrop. The farmer's hubble-bubble and gamcha are also included in the composition. There is depiction of the traditional combing of hair by one woman for another. The women have on simple jewellery along with their sari, while the comb and oil container are clearly depicted. The faces are seen from many angles, as in cubist delineation, while the torso and limbs are simplified into geometrical forms. This is in red, yellow and green.
In another, we find the figure of a woman with her body and hands while the rest is left to the imagination. Next to her stands her man, embracing her. This is more decorative than realistic. Riverside depicts a woman going to fill her water vessels from the river. There is a frieze of walking elephants at the back in gray and black. A parrot is also included in the composition.
Nurul Islam has taken part in 30 joint exhibits and this is his fourth solo. The exhibition remains open till August 14.