Day: September 28, 2025
Shishir Bhattacharjee Returns with Rekhachitro
With Rekhachitro/Drawing, the ongoing exhibition at the capital’s Kalakendra, the prominent artist Shishir Bhattacharjee is returning after a hiatus of more than a decade. Open to all, the exhibition will run daily from 4:00pm to 8:00pm until September 27. Shishir Bhattacharjee is a familiar name in Bangladesh’s visual arts scene. He was among the first artists to bring cartoons to the front pages of major newspapers, giving satire a fresh voice. Over the years, his works have not only entertained but also documented Bangladesh’s living history. Alongside his artistic practice, Bhattacharjee has also made his mark as a teacher, mentoring countless students at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Despite his long journey, he has often been hesitant to place his own creations at the forefront. That is why, for admirers of his work, this latest solo show is more than just an occasion—it is a celebration. His last solo exhibition, Daag-Tamasha, was held in 2013 at the Dhaka Art Center. The current exhibition features 95 line drawings created over three decades, from the early 1990s to 2023-25. The collection is uniquely Bhattacharjee: restless, fluid, and brimming with rhythmic lines. If his earlier cartoons captured the fleeting realities of society and politics with razor-sharp humour, the works here probe something deeper—mental landscapes. He employs his compositional skills to turn inner visions into imagery. The artworks adhere to the practice of automatic drawing, a method originating in Surrealism in the 1920s, where the artist allows the unconscious to direct the hand without rational control. “What I see, or perceive, emerges through my hand. It is spontaneous, often beyond conscious control. I can think and see countless things at once—perhaps science may never reach that point,” said Bhattacharjee. The pieces demonstrate his mastery of line-making. Each mark travels eagerly across the surface yet finds harmony with the others, forming an organic rhythm. To the viewer, the drawings serve as a doorway into surreal realms where the limits of reality crumble. Fish glide through the heavens, trees sprout from hands, eyes bloom like flowers, and lips open unexpectedly. Humour and uneasiness coexist in these works, expressing the contradictions of human existence. The drawings are rendered on sheets of varying colours—white, grey, and brown—each evoking a distinct atmosphere. The style is minimalist in technique yet rich in imagery, with symbols proliferating and interweaving to create pulsing compositions. Bhattacharjee’s use of local cultural motifs is particularly striking. Birds from folklore, fish from riverine traditions, floral patterns from alpana, and suns from folk art all appear in his work. These themes reflect the traditional while conversing with modern surrealism, resulting in interpretations that feel both timeless and contemporary. His compositions repeatedly feature human traits, eyes, hands, animals, and natural objects. The eye motif appears in diverse forms—sometimes vacant, sometimes erupting from other figures—signifying both surveillance and introspection. Faces, too, shift continually, whether smiling, skeletal, or fragmented, mirroring the complexities of the mind. Birds, fish, and trees merge seamlessly with human figures, reminding us that we are not separate from nature but inextricably bound to it. Alongside vitality, signs of disintegration also surface. Severed limbs, hollow eyes, and lifeless animals evoke apocalyptic undertones, suggesting war, environmental disaster, or human crisis. Yet, odd humour prevails, with grotesque movements and unsettling smiles that recall his incisive wit as a cartoonist. Though he no longer produces newspaper cartoons, sarcasm still infuses his work. Ultimately, Bhattacharjee’s art transcends mere aesthetics. His lines explore the delicate balance between humanity and nature, joy and fear, life and death. With lyrical spontaneity, symbolic richness, and surreal imagination, the ninety-five drawings in this exhibition bring dreams, nightmares, and realities into coexistence. Written by Shahbaz Nahian
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