Shako's reflected images

Spiritual Beauty 2 by Rebeka Sultana Moly

Talking about her contribution, Farida Zaman, one of the participants, says, "I had three paintings, acrylic on canvas. One was about a street girl Sufia, who has her dreams despite being poor. She was depicted as collecting riverside flowers. The others brought in the countryside that affected my work. I have repeatedly tried to paint the bright sunshine after the rain; folk elements have entered my work. The paintings were also in praise of nature and peace. Nostalgia for Chandpur could be seen in my work. I've used transparent washes and dots repeatedly." Farida, who has her Masters from Baroda and PhD from Shantiniketan has had four solos and taken part in 110 group exhibitions.

Fareha Zeba, another well-known artist of the Shako group describing her work says, "I want to see the face behind the mask that people have on in our society. I want to study the difficult life hidden behind everyday complacence. There is an imaginary veil around all of us. I've been haunted by this indiscernible veil since my childhood. I've always wanted to know what is beyond the veil. I have used sombre colours, although the colours of the butterfly's wings in the jar were the same as the girl's dress in one of the paintings. We saw masks appearing repeatedly in her work. Zeba has taken part in 15 mask making workshops in Denmark. She has had 5 solos and has participated in 36 group exhibitions.

Kuhu, another eminent woman artist of the exhibition, had one of her works in black and white charcoal and the other in red. Kuhu says, "I usually draw from real life. I want to give the people in the street a face and force of human life. Often those who pose for me are homeless and fear being exploited. My models are human faces in a crowd and I want us to recognise ourselves in them." Kuhu is trained in France and Bangladesh.

Kanak Chanpa Chakma says about her work, "I'm committed to paint the culture of my tribal people. As I'm influenced by the colourful clothes and jewellery of the tribal people of Rangamati, I've used bright yellow, red, blue and white. It took me time to get ready for the work but the pencil and brush work did not take up many hours." Kanak has been awarded the "Best woman artist of the 21st century" from Florida, USA. She has many other awards to her credit.

Laila Sharmeen, another noted artist says, "We live in an ugly, lonely ferocious world, but I can create a utopia with my paintbrush. I bring in the golden, sashaying paddy field, green water hyacinth and the colourful wings of the butterfly." With her lyrical use of blues, mauves and yellow, Laila had brought in the idyllic beauty of nature around us. Laila has taken part in 27 group exhibitions and has had 7 solos.

Naima Haque, who also took part in the group show, says about her work, "My paintings are the fragmented mirror pieces of my mind which reflect only part of my experiences and thoughts from variable view points." One of her untitled paintings had a seated woman in a red striped and dotted sari. Naima has her Masters from Baroda and is an associate professor at the Institute of Fine Arts, DU.

Nasreen Begum, another prominent artist of the Shako group, says, "Mine is the search for an unknown light to capture the passing beauty of all times." Nasreen's untitled work in brown and red brings in elements of nature leaves, pistils and pollen. Nasreen has done her Masters from Baroda.