Wakil's stirring cosmopolitan vision

An art-work of Wakilur Rahman

Once a part of the Shomoy group, accessing the socio-political scene has always been at the back of his mind, as he executed his work. He has little time for the outdated concept of 'Art for art's sake' which has been for long, a hang-up of some of even our senior artists, until the 21st century. Here is a driven and experienced artist, who assimilates the wealth of information and finesse of fine arts around him, and talks freely at a Dhanmondi residence

As a student of Fine Arts Dept. of DU, he had the experience of sharing thoughts and ideas with fellow students, teachers and passing intellectuals. There were ideological differences in the concept of art and scattered political disturbances. The education at that time was more academic and confined. His source of inspiration were seniors like Chandra Shekhor Dey, Alok Roy and Hashi Chakrabarti. There were others like Torun Ghosh and Deepa Haq who were four years senior to him. Having tete-a-tetes with them helped Wakil tremendously, as he puts it. Shahid Kabir, in particular, inspired him the most.

Asked to dwell on his departure from symbols of the 80s, which was somewhat comprehensive to the average art lover, to the pale gray, umber and beige flecks, dashes and dots, Wakil explains the change in time and place which induced these dramatic focal shifts in style. When in Beijing in 1983, on a scholarship, he was exposed to a completely different aestheticism. Later, when he was exposed to Berlin, he saw for himself the art pieces which he had earlier known only in books and in class-room lectures. He also had repartee with the contemporary western artists. Consequently, further changes came into his work.

The later simplification in Wakil's art had come with exposure to contemporary Chinese, Japanese and Korean aesthetics and philosophy, with their modern complexities of city life. Since then he has been endeavouring to bring in simplification and elegance in both his work and lifestyle. He does not make any comment but creates an atmosphere that will provoke the onlooker to think about the subject and its ambiance.

At Goethe Institut, in 2000 and Chitrak, in 2003, Wakil worked with not only his subject and style, but also the gallery space. In the latter, he presented six graphics in front of a chair; so that the viewer had to concentrate on the subject -- taking a long, hard look at an art piece despite the feverish harum-scarum, urban existence. 'My works are all social comments,' Wakil explains. 'What one finds in them are samples of textures and colours. This is, as I said, to compel one to think. I wish to present only different views to coax viewers to stop to think.'