Where Artist and Audience Intertwined
Amidst the quietness of Lalmatia’s Block F lies Shunno Art Space—like multidisciplinary artists, it’s also multidisciplinary in character. Limited in floor area but with an illimitable heart, the space adorns exhibitions, has a printing workshop set up, and has a café—intertwined. From February 15 to 22, this cozy space hosted artist Sanjid Mahmud’s solo exhibition “Tracing The Distance.” The week-long exhibition witnessed a vibrant crowd, and the inauguration was graced by eminent artistic figures Hamiduzzaman Khan and Mustafa Zaman. “Exhibition visitors observe art passively, only admiring the finished works. They only view; they don’t paint. But here, they were active participants. They picked up brushes and poured their emotions into the canvasses. Even those who don’t know how to draw found themselves painting. Their raw, unfiltered expressions became the foundation. Then, I stepped in, adding my artistic intervention, blending their spontaneity with my vision.” These words from the artist Sanjid himself perfectly procure the zeitgeist of “Tracing the Distance.” Sanjid Mahmud’s “Tracing the Distance” was an artistic co-production between the artist and the exhibition visitors that prioritized real-time cooperation and process over finality. Art, being a collaborative enterprise, carries remnants of prior forms by combining individual expression with common experiences. However, Sanjid Mahmud’s initiative changed the attention away from linguistic borrowing and toward overlapping artistic expressions in the moment, resulting in a dynamic interplay between creator and participant. Visitors at Shunno Art Space were greeted with empty canvases and encouraged to add spontaneously. The act of production was valued over passive viewing, encouraging people to leave their mark on the canvasses however they liked, be it sketchy motions or painterly strokes, regardless of their creative ability. This fun and engaging method relieved the pressure of normative practices, allowing for raw, unfiltered expression. Sanjid Mahmud then stepped in, responding to these inputs without striving for a certain style result. The end result was a body of work that defied decisive conclusion, undermining modernist conceptions of linear progression and chronological time. The title of the exhibition, “Tracing the Distance,” emphasized its purposeful break with the logic of modernity, which minimizes artists’ territorial consciousness and frequently limits them to historical circumstances. Through the process of collaborating with his audiences, Sanjid Mahmud challenged the conventional understanding of art as a “significant form” or a refined praxis. In order to reveal the fluid, communal character of creativity, he instead opened the gallery’s “white cube.” By means of this collaborative approach, the artist stimulated a reconsideration of the connections among art, artists, and the art community. Thus, Shunno Art Space transformed into a place of reflection where both appreciation and creation are rethought. By emphasizing the act of doing rather than observing, “Tracing the Distance” questioned established hierarchies and honored the beauty of group, unplanned expression while providing a novel viewpoint on the ever-changing conversation between shared and individual artistic languages. Written By Shahbaz Nahian
In Search of the Mangrove Goddess
Exploring the Sundarbans’ cryptic mangroves may be a weird, larger-than-life experience. When danger occurs in this wide wilderness, instinct frequently prompts one to seek spiritual protection. In such cases, the Sundarbans’ guardian spirit—Bon Bibi or Bono Bibi—is invoked. Bon Bibi is revered by the local forest dwellers as the divine guardian of the region’s treacherous environment. From April 4 to April 20, the Kalakendra gallery at the capital’s Lalmatia featured “In Quest of Bono-Bibi,” a mixed-media solo exhibition by artist Saidul Haque Juise. Juise, known for his precise craftsmanship, bright masks, and three-dimensional compositions, returned with a solo display following a long absence. Bon Bibi’s mythology is unique in that it combines both the Islamic and Hindu traditions, and it is commonly held that invoking her name in times of crisis promises divine assistance. The stories related to Bon Bibi are woven in a rich tapestry of mythology, which prodded Juise’s psyche when he was a child. Later in life, deeply touched by the Sundarbans’ environmental deterioration, he created this body of work as a lament and devotion to nature. This anthology, with its recurring themes of environmental concern and political overtones, combines lyrical extracts from folklore or shloks related to Bon Bibi with his own storytelling. The birth of these artworks dates back to the COVID pandemic. A time when despair loomed large. It was during this emotional upheaval that the artist Juise channeled his sorrow, frustration, and fear into a series of expressive sketches. Using vibrant shades of black, green, red, and blue— which are reminiscent of traditional Bangladeshi folk pottery— Juise stained his pages with raw emotion. Later, by combining various materials, such as twisted metal wires, paint, ink, handmade paper, newspaper pieces, etc., Juise enhanced the series even further. He was able to convey Bon Bibi’s holy force and the forest’s ethereal essence through these components. His line drawings smoothly blend with his pen and ink pieces to create complex collages that have a vibrant yet delicate vibe. In the meanwhile, the collection gains a tactile, even unearthly quality from his wire sculptures. The series gives viewers a deep feeling of Bon Bibi’s pervasive atmosphere. Along with his technical finesse, Juise added a unique Bengali flavor to the pieces. He skillfully combined the forms of people, animals, and insects to create flowing silhouettes that convey both motion and motionlessness. These shapes convey a duality: sadness that is subdued yet evident and fury that is controlled but strong. In doing so, Juise creates a collection of work that is both visually pleasing and profoundly significant by balancing artistic form with emotional weight. “In Quest of Bono-Bibi” stands much like an artistic diary that procures the artist’s personal reflections, cultural memory, and the urgent call for ecological reverence. It bridges folklore and modernity, spirituality and artistry—ultimately offering a visual testament of healing and harmony between humans and the natural world.
Gallery Plat-forms Hosts ‘Beyond the Veil’
Gallery Plat-forms is hosting ‘Beyond the Veil’ – 3rd solo exhibition by M F I Mazumder Shakil. In this exhibition, the artist presents the ancient medium of woodcut in a fresh, contemporary artistic form. A total of 24 woodcut prints are on display which includes 8 large-scale works. The exhibition began on November 9 and has now been extended until December 13, with visiting hours from 11 am to 8pm. As noted by Gallery Plat-forms, in ‘Beyond the Veil’, Shakil revives the long-format woodcut to explore a world both intimate and exclusive. Through sweeping panels in amber, midnight blue, and stark monochrome, a woman emerges through fabric, fold and shadow. The veil becomes a threshold rather than concealment, inviting us to see without seeing. Each cut and layer conjures the textures of cloth and memory, secrecy and freedom. Part portrait, part landscape of the unseen. Beyond the veil transcends identity to question how we perceive, what lies hidden. Rooted in tradition yet distinctly contemporary. Shakil’s work reimagines the politics of visibility and expands the language of global printmaking. “My work is primarily in printmaking – specifically woodcut. I begin by drawing on plywood or any other board, then carve the block using woodcut tools based on the distribution of light and shadow. After that, I apply ink to the block with a roller through various processes, and finally transfer the print onto paper. Depending on the size, completing a single piece can take several months,” explains Shakil. “I have participated in various exhibitions, art camps, and art fairs both in Bangladesh and abroad. In the future, I plan to organize solo exhibitions outside the country as well. In recent times, young artists in Bangladesh have been tirelessly pursuing creative practice, and their works have already received significant recognition on the international stage. However, the overall acceptance of fine arts within the country has yet to reach the desired level. I remain hopeful that with proper patronage and support, our artists will be able to present Bangladesh’s artistic heritage to the world with even greater distinction,” the artist further adds. Mohammed Fakhrul Islam Mazumder, a Bangladeshi artist born in Comilla in 1989. He completed his M.F.A and B.F.A in Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University in 2016 and in 2014. Mazumder has held two solo exhibitions— “Obscure Beauty” (GalleryChitrak, 2023) and “The Odyssey of the Soul” (Zainul Gallery, 2018). His art has been showcased widely across Asia,Europe, and Australia, including major exhibitions in Japan, China, Thailand, Korea, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. He has received numerous national and international awards such as the 26th Berger Young Painters’ Award (2022), Excellent Works Award, COP15 Global Art & Design Competition, China (2022), 2nd International Print Biennale Award, India (2021), and the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Award (2019). Mazumder’s works are part of collections at the China Printmaking Museum, Ino-cho Paper Museum (Japan), Bengal Foundation, and Lalit Kala Academy (India). He has also participated in several artist residencies, including the Chitrashala International Artist Residency in India and Kali Artist Residency at Cosmos Atelier 71, Bangladesh. Currently, Mazumder continues to experiment with layers of print, texture, and form to reflect the subtle interplay between the visible and the unseen. Through this exhibition, Shakil opens a new doorway not only to beauty but also to perception. His works, imprinted with the labor of hand-carved marks on solid wood surfaces, unfold into a poetry of light and shadow. This exhibition is part of Gallery Plat-forms’ commitment to presenting Bangladeshi artists who bring together heritage and contemporaneity, offering them anew to the global stage. Written by Tasmiah Chowdhury Photo Credits Sarmin Akter lina Gallery plat-Forms
