This week, Longitude Latitude 6 (LL6) presents Nabil Rahman, a poet, journalist and artist, whose exhibition “It hung over us like an anvil” focuses on endings.
Nabil starts his series with “shomapto” – the word that appears at the end of every Bengali movie, and uses it to meditate on the looming sense of ending that constantly threaten our lives.
“Endings are constantly hanging over us. Of course, there is the lonely journey towards death, but other less obvious ones that we don't think of as endings,” says Nabil, who grew up in New York.
“The movies [in Bangladesh] are full of suicides, deaths, and other violent – almost ‘easy’ endings,” he says. “The plots don't reflect the people. This is the contradiction, the problem, that I tried to deal with through my work.”
The exhibition includes arts of different genres, but with one focus: endings. Some of the work feature are needle-perforated art on paper, sewing work done on paper, windshields from accidents salvaged and framed, massage rollers used on carbon paper to make impressions, and the use of film stills.
Endings are not complete without the sense of loss. Following Nabil’s exhibition, musician and singer Armeen Musa will lead a healing meditation circle on Tuesday, that will focus on loss.
“Dealing with loss is a very different process than anything in this world,” says Armeen. “It takes a lot of nurturing, and each society has its own mechanisms – but music has been around for centuries. Be it for heartbreak or any other loss, music has most often been made during times of loss. And it only helps to share that energy.”
In addition to Armeen and Nabil’s expression and exhibitions of loss and endings, there will also be a poetry workshop conducted by Nabil on Thursday, and a workshop titled “Monologue” by Iffat Nawaz on Saturday. Ampersand, a newly launched spoken word group in Dhaka, will hold a writing and performance workshop on Wednesday.
This is part of a four-month long event LL6, which is an open space that encourages various forms of creative expression and features artists from different backgrounds. It is open everyday from 2pm – 9pm, and located at Bay’s Bellavista, Road: 11, Block C, Banani. The Dhaka Tribune is a media partner of the event.
For further information, visit their page: www.facebook.com/LaitudeLongitude6