Six decades of contemporary art in Bangladesh / Chapter 3 of all 6 chapters

Takir Hossain

^{Imtiaj Islam Shohag}

Between the beginning of the 1980s and late 1990s, a number of talented painters also permanently migrated abroad to study on their favourite fields. Some are successfully working there and could establish themselves with the contemporary European art. Though they live abroad but their umbilical cords with Bangladesh is still seemingly intact. The painters live in different countries like Shahid Kabir (Spain), AKM Alamgir Haque (Canada), Sahadat Hussain (France), Khurshid Alam Saleem (USA), Tajuddin Ahmed (Canada), Iftikhar Uddin Ahmed (Canada), Babul Mahmood (Canada), Imtiaj Islam Shohag (France). Let us have a look into their works: 

Shahid Kabir (1949-) paints passionately with the subjects of downtrodden people, their daily chores and usable items as well neglected segments of our surroundings. His art features particularly the disadvantaged and exploited community. Their destitution and struggles are recurring subjects of his works. He reflects on their sufferings and untold miseries in his works. Kabir attained fame for his series on Lalon and Baul in the 1980s. Later, he concentrated on objects from everyday life. Water vessels, teapots, flower vase and rotten fruits are common subjects in his works. Brick fields, riverscapes, working women also appear in his paintings. His mode of expression is not certainly single. Realistic, semi-realistic and impressionism are quite apparent in his works. 

Alamgir Huque’s (1953-) themes range from nature to his immediate ambiance; political turmoil as well as weal and woe of the masses to say the least. His stay in Saskatchewan, triggered the artist’s inclination towards nature. Air, water and soil – all natural elements – in his view remain essentially the same irrespective of places and regions, therefore nature was addressed in its uninterrupted universatality in his works. Alamgir shuffles between mediums intermittently, each time returning to one with renewed interest and deeper enquiry, and each time striving to bring a novel vision to it. Last several years (from 2008 to date), Alamgir has been experimenting with varied kinds of papers and materials in his collages. He has used corrugated boards, fragments of jean, rag paper, kujo paper, various handmade papers, decorative papers, linen cloth, pieces of wood, sand paper to name a few.

Shahadat Hossain (1955-) is an artist who has been living in Paris since 1987. For the artist, the war of liberation still remains an important fact of life. He still bears the pain that he felt all those years ago. His works now are more sparse. The use of line and texture is minimal; colours are bold and bright. Tonal variations less noticeable at his works and he is continuously exploring the boundaries of expression with the varieties of familiar and unfamiliar forms, sculptural shapes, primitive motifs, folk themes and different botanical motifs like seeds, fruits, roots, trees, foliages as well as numerous indigenous forms. 

Khurshid Alam Saleem (1951-) has drawn inspiration from nature and its various manifestations. Strong brushstrokes and bold colour configuration define the highly abstract work of the painter. As an abstract expressionist, Saleem concentrates on pure forms and compositions where deep red, emerald green, bright yellow, burning crimson and soothing sapphire have been applied in thick overlapping layers. Large and tiny bars, circles, dashes and round shapes -- merging into each other -- suggest the seasons in Bangladesh.

Tajuddin Ahmed (1956-) was born and raised in Rokonpur, one of the historical parts of our Old Dhaka. The place is also recognised for ancient buildings and architectural heritages. The changing city, urban life, socio-economic structure, common people and their way of life tremendously affected his mind. All these things are meticulously used in his paintings. With the passage of time, Tajuddin has refined himself. Consequently, new lines, forms and different types of objects have been added to his paintings.

Iftikhar Uddin Ahmed (1960-) works mainly represented the disadvantaged and deprived people of the society. His paintings highlight rickshaws, wheels, prostitution and working people. Gradually figures have been missing in his works and various kinds of forms, symbols, textures, oval, triangular and rectangular shapes and lines took over the canvas. Geometric structures and architectural views give a new perspective to his works. Adjoining columns, slabs, walls, broken pillars, compass, broken doors, windows, metre scales, scattered papers are recurring objects in his works. 

Babul Mahmood’s (1969-) paintings feature thick textures, vivid colours, shapes of varied objects like kite, spinning top, natai, fish, bushes and more. Strong brush strokes and subtle expression of spirit are also two major traits of his acrylic and oil- based paintings. The painter cherishes childhood nostalgia, when life was carefree and everything was possible. Spinning tops and flying kites were part of that zeal. He has concentrated on the theme of childhood and has tried to capture the topic in different forms, colours and shapes. Skilled application of light and shade are obvious accomplishments, besides restless curves, round-square forms, rectangular-triangular and broken lines. The artist’s “Underwater World” series denotes joyful and free-roaming life underwater. The series also represent the vibrant lives of small fishes, green shrubbery and unknown foliage all in the watery world. Crimson and yellow are predominant in his nature-based works. The colour gives him a place for thinking and represents a journey through a contemplative world. 

Imtiaj Islam Shohag (1973-) has developed styles, which are mainly technique-based. Well-drawn figures also define his images. An interesting aspect of his works is that they often highlight natural disasters and catastrophes. Shohag’s images passionately capture fragmented visions. He is keen on shapes and compositions, and the colours are vibrant. The painter works in encaustic medium, which uses heated wax -- coloured pigments are added to that. The paste is then applied to a surface, like wood or canvas.

One significant feature of the 80s and 90s is that many women artists have appeared as serious painters and many of them are addressing various kinds of social, cultural and environmental issues like harassment and discrimination of women and children, deforestation, river erosion, communalism, social intolerance etc. In this ground, Atia Islam Anne, Niloofar Chaman, Nazlee Laila Mansur, Dilara Begum Jolly, Murshida Arzu Alpana are most prominent names. The artists portrayed their artistic creativities with different modes like surrealistic, semi-realistic, figurative, symbolic, abstract, semi-abstract and conceptual. Some of their works plunged deep into narrative and absurd art. They are considered to be more social conscious painters as their first focal point was varied social dilemmas and they voices were very similar to the act of anti-establishment. Their paintings articulate their personal observations, experiences, understanding and deep observations on the anomalies in our society -- particularly when it comes to what is now termed the second sex by feminists. The canvases focus on women's regrets, needs, despair and frustration. Their works are crowded with protesting and tormented figures that demonstrate the common and unfortunate features of life. They deal with a variety of subjects in addition to women---- corruption, misplaced idealism and religious bigotry.

During the time, another feature had been added to our art scene. Painters started to extensively exhibit their works abroad and many foreign painters came here for exhibition. The foreign artists exchanged their experiences and thinking process with Bangladeshi painters. And this is the time; painters again got the chance to explore themselves. A good number of young artists are working who are displaying a keen sense of consciousness and are negotiating issues like identity and tradition with a more objective understanding and are attempting to address more relevant national and international issues like globalisation, communalism, feminism, environment and economic and social discrimination in a language which is at the same time contemporaneous and markedly distinctive.

Another significant aspect of the 80s is that artist Nisar Hossain along with his contemporaries like Dali Al Mamun, Dilara Begum Jolly, Habibur Rahman, Shishir Bhattacharjee, Saidul Haque Juise formed a group styled 'Somoy', Time in English, at the beginning of the '80s. The group addressed religious bigotry, superstition, political and social discrimination through their works. Here art has become the voice against all sorts of evil deeds. Their language was different from the so-called mandatory approaches like “Art is Beauty”. They are considered to be anti-establishment. As a pressure-group, it resorted to outrageous tactics to attack the established traditions of art, employing a barrage of manifestations, as well as expositions of absurdist art, intentionally designed to scandalise and shock, both the authorities and the general public. Later on, the group did not continue their artistic activities regularly but some of them started to focus their paradigm individually in their artistic effort. I think this was the time when the artists of younger generation started thinking differently of their visions and imaginations. 

… To Chapter 4

About the Writer
Takir Hossain is an art critic and cultural curator. He has been writing on contemporary Bangladeshi art and culture for a long time. His keen interests are on art and literature. As an art critic, his criticisms have been incorporated in many reputed artists’ books, brochures, national and international art journals as well as many other varied forms of creative publication. On many occasions, the critic has presented keynote papers for national and international seminars. He has also graced the position of a jury member in a number of art competitions and carnivals. In his vibrant career he has covered several international exhibitions held in different countries across Europe and Asia.
The writer can be reached at takir75@gmail.com