Confident to the core

Alone . Mixed '03

Explaining the use of his choice of colours and subject Ahmed said, " I feel that even though I'm born in Bangladesh I believe the world is my studio. My work is therefor universal rather than something that reflects any particular country. I don't want to be confined by my surroundings only. If you ask me what my identity is, I will say that once an artist is established, his identity is obvious. I don't believe that painting boats and rivers is necessary for me." Ahmed feels that we must come out of our conservative confines if we want to do something which will be universally acclaimed. He has used a boat in one of his own works, done in Paris, but it has been included in such a modern manner that it could have existed anywhere in the world. The boatman too has been included but this again has been with subtlety and a nouveau vision. There was not the typical Bangladeshi sail and nor was there the blue water. There was a heaping, swirling, sliding and gliding of colours.

Ahmed said, " I have brought in hopes, aspirations, dreams and nightmares like other artists of my time , as without that an artist cannot exist. Moreover, in order to reach his target an artist has to have continuity in his work. I have called my exhibit 'Searching for space'." Ahmed had tried to create "space" as had done Da Vinci, Picasso, Matisse and other artists who have inspired him. "In each of my pictures I have created a concept of 'space' for the average person and those who think and create with their pen, paints, for whatever purpose. Everyone needs 'space' for oneself to be contented. The average person dies and we take little notice of that, whereas when Picasso, Zainul or Quamrul died were compelled to mark the occasion. They have created a 'space' because of which they still exist in our minds. I am searching for a 'space' which I have created and for which I hope I shall be remembered by posterity," he added.

About his favourite colours -- ink blue vermilion, chrome yellow and variations of grey and white (used in textures and lines in sweeps, splashes and curls apart from tiny imprinted details of texture work) -- Ahmed said, " I agree that I've a fascination for the hues that I've used. However, I'm very conscious, at the same time, of what I'm doing. I believe that I've used the colours that each picture demanded.

" There's been a justification behind each of the lines and sweeps in my work. There's a definite message in my work ; and I believe in symbolism. There is no mathematical calculation in the works. I have projected my feelings, experiences, hopes and passions in my mixed-media works. However, one knows that black stands for suffering, royal- blue and white for peace etc. You can't remove these age-old concepts. I've always been conscious of colour utilisation."

There has been the use of contrasting colours, keeping subtlety in mind, as well as texture work in the paintings There was also the effect of delicate pencil lines. There was also some collage work. The vermilion and blues had been juxtaposed with balancing paler hues. "At present ," said Ahmed " the latest contemporary effort in fine art is at a stand still. There is not that much of progress from what had been seen in the post World War days, the world over, some of us are trying to propel ahead but we have our limitations. I want to remove the standard concepts such as 'two and two make four'. I believe in globalisation; I'm searching for something new in combining fine arts concepts with architectural visions, as art and architecture are related. I make a plan, as I've said earlier, before I go into my work. I combine my 'memory with desire'.

Iftikhar Uddin Ahmed has won nine awards from Denmark, Japan Bangladesh including the First Prize on Painting in the competition "Artist of the World". Scholars of the French Govt.,Galerie Bernaos, Pairs in 1994. He held a workshop at alliance Francaise, Dhaka, in 2001. He is at present a free-lance artist.