A recent trip to the Nazimgarh Wilderness Resort in Sylhet for me was an invigorating experience. It was a large open space surrounded by hillocks, alluring greenary, tranquil and blissful atmosphere. I took part with some artists to imbibe the spirit of untainted nature and pristine panorama.
Under the patronage of Goutam Chakraborty, acclaimed artist and director of Galleri Kaya, we stayed at the resort for four days starting November 4. Apart from greenary and hills, there was also the famous Sari river flowing nearby, and we could not but ejnoy a boat ride.The participating artists subconsciously felt a rhythm to mingle themselves with all these surroundings.
Goutam Chakraborty wanted to assemble some serious painters of different genres. He wished they would paint with their natural tempo. The galleriest selected four painters working in different genres from the '70s, '80, '90s and post '90s--Ranjit Das, Aloptogin Tushar, Ashraful Hasan and Shahanoor Mamun. The selection was meant to help project a chronological development of Bangladeshi contemporary art. The participating painters worked in several mediums like charcoal, soft pastel, watercolour, ink and mixed-media--among these charcoal and watercolour were most used.
Seasoned artist Ranjit Das has been working in watercolour and the subjects range from tranquil nature, animals and female figures from different ages. His watercolours (nature based) have been done with agile brushing. He possesses adequate insistence and potentials necessary for transforming visual insights of the natural world. He draws pleasure from watercolour which enables him to interpret his inner thriving. His figurative works have a touch of realism and the painter is now evolving the figures, visages and various parts of the body.
At the trip, Aloptogin Tushar lent to express his creativities through charcoal and soft pastel. He has poraryed nubile women in all their curvaceous beauty. One of his famous themes was "Nachol Bidroho", where the charcoal based drawing shows the Santals waging a war armed with bows and arrows. Tushar has a great passion to work on historical events. Through the series of works, the painter recollects the Santalipeasantrevolution of 1949-50 in which the Santal community in Nachole area under Chapai Nawabganj sought to establish their rights over their land.
Ashraful Hasan is one of the painters of the group who is cerebrally sound and his paintings force us to ponder on someting novel and refreshing. His charcoal and pastel based works feature superb detailing with powerful drawings and hint at his strong sense for articulating and compositioning semi-figurative expressions. He has employed his highly refined insights on handling craft and skill in representing images that are often of deforestation and inhumane aspects of mankind. He likes to go to the details of his subjects and chooses to construct his language dwelling mostly on the significant details of the surface of the things denoted.
Shahanoor Mamun has done several watercolours of different sizes during the trip. The artist has developed an individual style particularly in watercolour medium. He prefers the medium firstly and foremostly for its trait of articulateness. The medium's lucidity gives him a liberty to impart his creativity smoothly. Mamun has proved his dexterity in portraying the details of light and shadow while reflecting on nature at work in lush greenery, shores of river, river dotted with tiny boats and quiet nature.
Throughout the tour, the artists rejuvenated themselves with a novel experience and ambiance. They did not feel any additional pressure when limning their artistic creativities. They lived in lavish rooms to enjoy their liberty and got the chance to think individually. The cozy rooms' surrounding ambiance influenced the artists to generate something unique and remarkable. They painted with personal enjoyments and experiences that they have gathered in every steps of their lives. Somebody portrayed on the easel and some worked sitting on the floor in the room while others at the room's attached balcony. The balcony was spacious and open,from where one could easily see the lush greenery and plenty of long trees. The artists plunged deep into their creative works in the midst of the soothing nature.
The writer is an art critic and cultural curator.
