A Carrion Call for Simplicity
Performance art has become a popular artistic expression in many parts of world. In Bangladesh it has not been explored as extensively yet there is enough interest to warrant more examples of such experimentation. Wakilur Rahman's recent endeavour 'Newsfood' at the National Museum, has created quite a stir in the art scene. It was repeated in a new space in Chittagong and will hopefully be shown again in Bengal Art Lounge. The other name of the thought-provoking video is 'Khabarkhaddu'. It is an exhibition which deals with how a newspaper selects a piece of news and how it is produced, and how it is printed. It also contains footage of how the audience reacts. The edition of the 15th year of 'Prothom Alo' was used. Wakil, educated in China with Tawfiqur Rahman, the sculptor, took 14
projections after his research. In six parts he dealt with the pre-production system, the text and eight projections deal with the image. First he used the headlines, a complete newspaper including 24 pages and then divided the images under 'politics' 'daily life', 'portrait', 'environment', 'cultural life', 'sports' and so on.
Wakil worked for one and a half months. With him were his assistants who worked in the paper's archive. Behind each image used in a newspaper there are about 40 or 50 images existing. But the newspaper chooses only one. However he went through the entire collection of photos and not just the selected one. He used the projection at different heights, says the Berlin returned artist, using the floor and ceiling with the projection. It was a cross projection and sometimes the images overlapped and at times focused on an individual. In that way he made a design which moved in different directions.
He says that it was a kind of translation of our memories through video and power points. He admits that the video is nothing new in art in Dhaka.
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From the beginning he wanted to have the audience as a part of the exhibition. Having collected all the material he transferred it to a video technique. It was a twelve-day exhibition, which the artist repeated at two different venues—twice in Dhaka and once in Chittagong Shilpakala Academy on December 29. The space in the three cases is different. The audience too, differs, he says, and they always see something different, the artist adds. There are many interactive things in the display.
Wakil completed his studies at The Central Academy of Fine Arts Peking, P R of China, and later went to Berlin working with galleries. Although originally, a student of painting, Wakil is now more involved in experimental work. He has also exhibited at the Muktijuddo Jadughar, Alliance Francaise , Goethe Institut and Chitrak, Indian Art Centre, Dhaka Art Centre, and Bengal Gallery working with space all the time.
In the exhibition at Alliance Francaise in 1987 he used Chinese calligraphy. In 2007 he did a big exhibition 'Living and breathing space' in which he worked with the Bangla alphabets and numbers. He tried to create a memory of the collective society. He wanted the people to be aware of their culture. He was stressing on how our society has developed. He uses the geometry of the Bangla language as a form to develop his style of work, as all artists try to create something new.
According to Wakil, “A single line on paper may stand for the belief in Allah. For the Buddhists too a straight line represents the ideal life. Thus a single line has a lot of expressions. I think as an artist it is my duty to create a space where people can come and think their thoughts. Space, emptiness and silence , flatness and minimalism in the context of eastern philosophy— if we look at the simple life led by Buddha and by the Bauls. In the life of the Bengalis there is traditional simplicity. As a painter I feel that work should be simple but deep”.
There are causes for his work to be abstract today. He used a lot of figurative work before with socio-political comments. Now he deals with the emptiness in life.
Wakil has exhibited in Germany, France, Norway, Greece, Bulgaria, Japan and Cuba. He has had more than 15 solo exhibitions. He has four awards to his credit.
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