Unconventional installations by two artists
Among the many items of the installation was the Cockroach girl, made from calico fabric put together with latex glue. When Jessica came she wasn't used to cockroaches but after two months here she says she lives in harmony with them. "I realise now that they are just harmless creatures," she says. "It is related to other work that show that women are helpless. That's why I've depicted the insect as being on its back. I found that there are many women who spend their time mostly in the kitchen. They work very hard but they're not valued and don't have as much freedom as the men." Another entry depicted two green chillies. "I'm not used to chillies and biting into them is like biting into snakes for me," Jessica says. Behind it, a nonsense poem Bapu Ram Shapu Ray was inscribed. The poem is about pretending to have courage. It was framed in boxes for sending toiletries in Bangladeshi weddings.
Then we came across a mosquito motorbike related to the film that she showed during the programme. From the beginning of her stay here she focused on the mosquito, as it was a symbol for her. It stood for corruption and frustration. The mosquito net symbolised protection for the people. She felt that conniving and powerful people were sucking the strength and energy of the helpless masses. Jessica was also amazed by the folk art and so she depicted rickshaw-walla shoes, beautifully decorated ones with designs for those who had none. "Rickshaw art is not valued as much as established art," she commented. There was also a gauze butterfly in purple standing for the dreams and aspirations of the people of Bangladesh.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. There was an installation with numerous gaudily coloured mosquitoes around a giant white mosquito net in the tea-terrace. The mosquitoes were hanging upside down and were trapped. About her short film, Blue mosquito, Jessica says, "The film is about the feelings that I experienced under the surface of everyday life here; the struggle to be free, the search for the unattainable."
Kabir Ahmed Masum Chisty's News at 10 puppet show performance presented news in the form of a puppet play. The puppets have no speech and they reflect the vision of the direwctor. In the background of the pupet show is a painted audience who watch the play unfold.