Glorifying the buffalo
The next picture has included the Shahid Minar because the artist feels that it is an integral part of the life of a Bangladeshi. Another picture has a man seen behind bars and his hands are seen as large and overwhelming. The man is in a house where you find images of diamonds and pearls. " What I want to show here is that man often accumulates a large amount of worldly gains but is still not happy," says Rafi. " There is sometimes no end to our needs even though we have aplenty. Despite owning a lot of things and enjoying a lot of privileges some people can still be discontented. At the same time," he adds, "a man could be living in a simple mud house and still be at peace."
This time the miniatures have concentrated quite often on the eyes of the buffalo. These have been made unusually large and express simplicity and innocence. The buffalo stands for man and often it has been depicted as carrying some paddy in the mouth as one of man's basic needs is food. Through the images of the buffalo, the artist has tried to show the inner feelings of man. The depiction of the subject is much more complex that what it was 10 years before. This is because the artist's thought processes have become more difficult to sort out and present for examination. All the works have been done with pen and coloured ink.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Rafi has had three solo exhibitions and six international exhibitions, including ones in Japan and USA. He has won seven awards, including the Honourable Mention, at the Young Artists' Exhibition in 2004.