Rokeya's lyrical lines
In one of her prints, which is a dry point, she has a woman sliding down a giant leaf. Around her are fish, snakes, turtles and wriggling plants of the river. On top there are large gathering clouds. The water and sky are almost mixing together in the woman's journey. When she calls her exhibit Chinno paatai shajai toroni, Rokeya means that days pass by in our lives like the fallen leaves. Her work represents her daily life and its environment. Of course it is not a direct mirror of her life but mixed with her imagination and experience. Her work incorporates what touches and moves her most.
The next picture depicts a woman rising from the river and covered with lotus blossoms. As a woman, she is comfortable with female experiences, hopes and aspirations. Some of the lotus flowers are white while others gray and white. The white adds the aesthetic quality. This is called Bonodevi. She combines woman with nature. "People ask me at times, what I mean by bringing two women embracing or three women being close together. Being a woman I find the bonding of woman important in case of sisters, friends and mother and daughter. In our society in the East , we are not so close with men, and so the grouping with women comes in my pictures. As I often see a sea of female garment workers leaving the factories, this is fixed in my mind. "
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Another print has a woman in a red sari, with a lotus on her lap. Behind her are giant banana mango and jackfruit trees. There is also the patabahar. This too is dry point, as there is a scarcity of zinc plates in the city at present. The plate she uses is called PS plate, which is recycled.
Rokeya's work is quite breathtaking. She has challenged set ideas and gone against taboos to depict human desires and aspirations, especially that of women. Similarly, when she depicts nature's beauties, one is taken aback with the grandeur. Beyond the flowers and leaves there is more meaning. The forms, lines and colours of both human and nature depict psyche and experience.
Rokeya has won 13 scholarships and awards, including the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Award on the National Art Exhibition in 2002 She has had nine solo exhibitions, including some in India and Pakistan.