Peace and Light

Proshanto Karmakar Buddha's latest artistic endeavour exhibit is thematically based on what the whole world seems to be striving for : Peace. The exhibition, at the lounge of Café Mango, Gulshan will last for two months and ends on January 14. In 2010, the US government chose Proshanto's work to represent Bangladesh. 'Peace through Art', as it was called, was the entrée from Bangladesh, and this was with seven other country representatives.   

Three mixed media works from the series Light, 2014.

The present exhibition deals with light, with no gloom to share. It is full of the vibrancy of life even when the characters are struggling – like the gypsies and the adivasi women. This is an optimistic representation of Bangladesh.

“In this there is the portrait of Mother Teresa, Mohammed Ali, there is the winning of the water boundary which may bring in gas, and some precious minerals,” says Proshanto. “People today are going to the US and Saudi Arabia to work and bring in money. I hope that some day the position will be reversed. Experts will be coming in to work in Bangladesh and Europe to send money from Bangladesh, such as from WHO, Save the Children etc. It will no longer be a Third World country then full of dirt and noise pollution as well as murky grey or brown water full of waste from factories and brick kilns.”

The pictures include the farmer taking his vegetables to the market. Above is the sun which shines, as he dreams of earning a money with his future rich harvests. Proshanto's pictures are often presented in slates.

Life, acrylic on canvas, 2014.

Proshanto explains the reason behind painting the legendary boxer – Mohammed Ali: “He is one of the leading boxers of the world. Yet he is ill today. I am the first one to work on him. I want Mohammed Ali to be well and come back to us. This painting is 3ft by 3 ft.”

He has painted the breast of a woman and a boat sails on it. She is hunting for her lover and will not abandon her search. There is the delineation of a woman picking leaves in a tea garden in Sylhet. Images of the Shahid Minar, Rabindranath Tagore are included in this collection that all relate to peace and light on earth.

The farmer's dream of becoming prosperous through his labour is seen in the three orange bullock cart wheels that form the basic coverage on yet another painting. This has the green grass of hope below. There is depiction of a row of books. They refer to books printed from the Language Movement to the Freedom Movement in I97I.The colours of the books are red and green—being symbolic—following the colours of the flag of Bangladesh.  

Hero, acrylic on canvas, 2014.