Modern melodies in metals

Md Azmal Haque's "Society"

At the opening of the function, Ms Kabir said that it was indeed remarkable how metal cooking instruments, the "tawa" and "korai", had been juxtaposed and amalgamated to present something fresh and totally new. She said that they had gone forward to provide something innovative and positively interesting forms and styles with metal, soil etc. She added that the work was surely forward looking and even futuristic. The working together with the Bogra artisans was another interesting factor, she continued to say, as was also the further changes made in the artists' own studios.

The reputed artist, Abdus Shakoor, also present at the occasion said, "The making of cooking utensils and spades was done at Bogra ages back and distributed throughout Bangladesh since the '50s. I'll testify to that as I'm from Bogra myself. The young artists of Britto, guided by a European concern, carried out their new symbolic experiments." Shakoor said there were ancient motifs included in the works, like that of the deity Ganesh, hands that have been seen in temples before, and amphibians like lizards and frogs, which have survived the earth since time immemorial. By this one gathered that the installations oscillated through a wide vision.

A local well-known critique praised the exhibit furthermore for its use of indigenous technology and its different outlook and approach. He said that the melding of the artists' ideas and perceptions with their techniques was apt and admirable. His final comments were, "The Dhaka viewers are taking an interest in each and every piece of this type of innovation and that is inspiring for young artists in general. This is a well thought out display: you can detect the imprints of each artist in each of the installations."

"Britto's Tayyaba Begum Lipi, asked to say a few words about her organisation said, "This came into being in May 1992 with six Dhaka artists, including Shishir Bhattacharya, Mahaboob, Srabon, Piplo, Masum and I. We are linked with the London based 'Triangle Arts Trust'. We worked at Bogra as we found the facilities there conducive to our work. The display is the product of a week-long workshop there. The 12 free-lance artists whose works have been included in the exhibit are those of Mahabubur Rahaman, Salahuddin Khan, Hasanur Rahman Reaz, Abu Naser, Moin Hasan, Abdur Rahim, Hansa Hena and Yasmin Jahan, Sumon etc.

"What was the fun part of the workshop was that the artists, who lived in eight rooms in a single storied house, there at Bogra had wonderful interaction; this is not common at a junior level. Speaking about Mahabub's work I'll say that he's focused on personal existence, including our portraits and when he brought in the two chickens once again the simplistic work reflected our domestic co-existence. He's blended traditional motifs with simplistic representations."

Hasanur R Reaz, a sculptor with a Masters from the Fine Arts Institute, DU, reflecting on his work said, "I've worked on the Bogra landscape, bringing in the greening, the winding ways, the over-bridges and the tall trees seen in the planks of wood used as well as the bent enormous nails in 'The way to Naodapara'. I've brought in the sunrise and sunset, which I experienced, once more in a symbolic manner. Next, in 'Nightmare-I' I've brought in my nightmares in which I feel that I'm trying to flee from some devilish individual. In this one finds nails, which symbolise pain. I've gone into sculpting as in this genre I feel I can best express myself. In 'Nightmare-II' it's brought in my portrait that has been surrounded by nails, representing agony. 'Shitol Janata' reflects the ignorance in the common man in Bangladesh which makes him impervious to wrong-doings around him. The shackles stand for his constraints. This is a strong protest against prevailing conditions against the existing authorities. Fear, pain and sorrow are reflected in my work." However, Reaz is positive in his outlook as regards his future, even though young Bangladeshi artists often have a difficult uphill climb, due to the prevailing socio-economic factors.

Salahuddin Khan (Srabon)'s works included "Lizard and the moon", "Gonesh-concave", "Ganesh-convex" in which the sculptor has played with techniques. "Under the old tree" had used a tree formation and brought in some apparently happy frogs in which he had introduced the element of irony of beauty seen in apparent ugliness in nature. These were also mirrors of his conception of his own self, which Khan said with mirth. Asked why a man should be depicted as he frog, the sculptor explained, "All the time we're jumping around but achieving very little." Putting his experience of the workshop, Khan put it in a pithy comment, "It was fantastic."

Asked to elaborate on his experience at the Taras Shevchenko University, Kiev, Ukraine, where he has studied IR, Khan said, "It was too expensive for me to study fine arts there so I switched to IR, which I found interesting as well. I did art work all through having done my stint in the art field before going to Russia. Talking about his source of inspiration, Khan said, "I feel motivated by even common things and not necessarily people or things related to the arts. Marc Chagall and Paul Gauguin remain my favourite artists."

Abdur Rahim, another sculptor student of DU, also presented various impressions of society in his sculpture. Rahim said, "On the 'tawas' are the images of a few people how appear to be pious from the appearance, but who, if examined in depth, are really 'Pharisees' in the making. The eyes contain protruding wires that reveal the inner souls of these mischief makers."

Azmal Haque, from Rajshahi University, and Sumon of DU, added similar poignant views as the other ten artists of the Britto endeavour. The impression that one carried away from the exhibit was that here were young sincere artists hell bent on presenting a mirror of society, replete with pain and frustrations. Such exhibits was a good change for connoisseurs, who are weary of conventional images that they often view in the local galleries.