Terracotta ornaments and pottery on display
Although, people bemoan the fact that the new generation has drifted far afield from its cultural roots, Hasan is an exception. He is among the very few to focus on the conservation of the country's age-old traditional terracotta art form. His second solo Terracotta Ornaments and Pottery Exhibition at the Zainul Gallery of Institute of Fine Art, University of Dhaka, displays 76 designer clay ornaments.
"Gone are the days when our temples and houses were embellished with terracotta. I have planned this exhibition for popularising this ancient art form among the young generation. It is heartening to see that people, particularly the young, are buying clay jewellery," says Hasan.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The eye-catching clay ornaments-- necklaces, rings and even bangles-- have attracted a lot of people. Apart form the clay, metals such as brass and copper are also used in some ornaments. The different colours of the soil give the ornaments a dazzling look. 'The earthy colour, white, black, burnt red-- all are natural colours and we don't use any artificial colours. Actually our country has an amazing range of colourful clays," said Hasan.
This terracotta or clay ornaments can earn foreign currencies as well. Hasan is very optimistic on this score, " Our clay productions are far better than our neighbouring countries, as nature has provided us with rich soil, water and climate." Most of the productions in the exhibition are totally made of local clay, though Chinese clay has been used in some cases. To Hasan the only obstacle of this industry in our country is the lack of furnaces for firing clay products. " At a personal level it is very expensive to make a furnace as it costs around Taka 5 to 10 lakhs. Our government should come forward to help the artisans involved in this art form," maintained Hasan.
Hasan truly believes that our new generation should be well versed in this art form. Towards this end, his friends and he are willing to voluntarily train people in their ceramic studio Banglar- Terracotta at Savar. " This art form has a bright future indeed and we shouldn't allow it to perish," said Hasan.
The exhibition ends today.