The Bangladesh Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, has been inaugurated on May 30 at the main venue “Giar Dini-Arsenale” and visitors, artists and critics are praising the works, informed participating artist Mokhlesur Rahman to Dhaka Tribune.
In the inaugural session, Dr Ranjit Kumar Bishwas, cultural affairs secretary of Bangladesh, proudly talks about the rich heritage and cultural norms of the country that date back to almost thousand years.
After the successful debut at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011, this is Bangladesh’s second appearance in the art exhibition, one of the most prestigious contemporary art shows in the world. The participant artists are showing their work around the theme of “Supernatural.” Bangladeshi representatives of this year includes Mokhlesur Rahman, Mahbub Zamal, AKM Zahidul Mustafa, Ashok Karmaker, Lala Rukh Selim, Uttam Kumar Karmakar, Dhali Al Mamoon, and Yasmin Jahan Nupur.
The Bangladesh Pavilion also showcases works of South African painter Gavin Rain, Venice-born sculptor, Gianfranco Meggiato that makes the Bangladesh Pavilion, beyond doubt, an attractive international space.
Rain, who is a Neo-Pointillist painter, stylised his work in a colourful and unique way. Gianfranco Meggiato is a renowned Italian sculptor who is particularly known for his complex technique of lost-wax casting of bronze. He calls his work “intro sculpture.”
Mokhlesur Rahman is a printmaker who has worked on relief printmaking technique on woodcut, has taken prints on Saree (as a symbol of motherhood), one in Jamdani, and another in Tangail’s Boutique and tath, based on three themes.
Dhali Al mamun’s works are installations themed on various gestures of hands on a wall, titled “Apponayon” (Elimination).
Ashok Karmaker’s installations are of wrist and posture of fingers depicting the symbolic language used in various fields. His works reflect the message that, the progression of the world depends on communication.
Among the two women artists, Lala Rukh Selim is a sculptor, who will showcase a large scale sculpture demonstrating the present state of women in our country. The title of her work is “Life on a Delta.” As a professor of the sculpture department of Dhaka University, she is a valued art critique and activist.
Yasmin Jahan Nupur is a visual artist who works basically with video. Her video installation, “I am walking on borderlines, being together,” at the Venice Biennale is a substantially deep political piece. The politically drawn borders between countries are an imposition on our freedom. By portraying these messages artistically through video, she created an international appeal to the art work of Bangladesh.
Prokash Kumar Karmakar is displaying multimedia based paintings with large dimensions, which is the recent trend emerging among painters, thus placing Bangladesh in league with other countries.
