Art
Sound Eating Silence
Mozai Zeevan Safori, The Race, oil on canvas, 2012.
Samir Majumdar, Peasant Family, pen and ink on canvas, 2012.
Both Mozai Zeevan Safori and Samir Majumdar who had their joint exhibition at Bengal Lounge, Gulshan, are greatly indebted to SM Sultan, who personally groomed them. One artist is from Jessore and the other from Narail. Their display goes on till November 13. The exhibition was inaugurated by Albert Conze, the Ambassador of Germany; well- known artist Qayyum Chowdhury and Monirul Islam spoke at the occasion.
It is not often that painters from outside Dhaka enthral art enthusiasts. Although only about 40, each of them was determined to make the Bengali proud of his past. They painted on canvas and cloth with unique visions. They presented men and women of the rural past with animals and birds that lurked in our forests and occupied the homes.
Lotus flowers and other blossoms--trees of all types, such as the date palm and the bushes in bloom, make us take joy in our past—when industry did not catch the eye of man. There was no pell-mell hurry to get somewhere. There was no pollution of food and water. The booming noises and the black outpouring from chimneys did not blunt our sensitivity. The men painted dark, reminding one of African folk art, at some point, were lithe and agile and full of energy. The cunning of the men of the past, when they dressed hay and sticks to fool the childless cow, to produce milk, was the knowledge of the past. When women caught fish and wove their cloth—these industries too were of years ago. Domestic animals like cows and goats were seen aplenty. Horses too were common. Existence then was an idyll—as if taken from Arthurian legends of Mallory. There were no cement jungles to block the view—the paintings appeared like the ones of perhaps some pre colonial times , when the British had not yet come to trade and had stayed on to rule.
Harmony, peace and contentment spoke from every image. There were both landscape and portraiture, and they spoke of days gone by, when repose was the order of the day. Yes fierce tigers did roam the jungles, as portrayed, fish and fowl were in abundance as in the legends of the middle ages when men ploughed and women wove.
Each picture spoke of joie de vivre of a time gone by.
Samir comes from SM Sultan's Narail. The artist realise that the beauty of village life is seeing its end, and he is not panicky about his realisation. His work is subtle and unique. There is a "powerful silence” that overwhelms the noise and clamour around us in the cities. Samir uses a lot of green as this colour represents nature. Imagination guides him and does endless circles and lines that form designs in his mind. The story of the painters speaks in a visual language and makes us take pleasure in the loveliness of the days gone by.
Mozai Zeevan Safori, meanwhile, believes that there is a define rhythm of life. The reason for moving away from the present is to depict the life of simple, contented people—when life had its true value –with no hang-ups on style and affectations. There is no hectic desire to surpass each other in these delicate forms.
Samir says that among the European artists he loves Vincent Van Gogh most of all, as his work reflects his spirit and soul. He sacrificed his sanity for the sake of art, the painter says. His life was like art. His trees and flowers had thickness in them. Through his sunflowers and cypress trees, Samir says that you can feel the pulse of the painter. Here in Bangladesh, all his admiration goes to SM Sultan, Zainul Abedin and Monirul Islam, who had come to inaugurate the exhibition. Monirul Islam has brought in something new for the artists in print and in water-colour, says the artist. He has been a professional painter for 23 years. Mozai Zeevan Safori , also in his 40s, says, “ My studio is in Jessore. My paintings have many types of trees, haystacks, stirring the husk of the rice. All the work is oil on canvas, as it is one thing that creates a passion among painters. Oil is however, a slow media and is difficult to preserve.
The world around us is so tense and lacking in mirth that this type of work is to relieve the burden of present 21st century existence, the artist says. The “Race' includes people who appear to follow an individual who maybe a thief, and at the same time may not be so. The mood is some type of light-hearted game, says the painter. “In front of the Royal Bengal Tiger” relives the fear of the animal in the villages.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments