The Avant-Garde Artist

Artist Zihan Karim on a performance.

Art cannot be judged. You can't confine it to a set of rules and guidelines. Artist Zihan Karim, the sole artist from Bangladesh to participate in the recently concluded fifth Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, 2014, believes that art is open for all to enjoy and critique but an artist's work should not be dependent on any kind of value judgement.

“The problem with the art scene in Bangladesh is that there is intense competition, and it's not to produce the best work but to create art that is most liked by a certain segment of people,” says Karim, who graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Chittagong University.

In a short span of time, Karim has earned a name for himself as an artist who is not afraid to experiment with new art forms and media. His works consist of several pop culture references, as he incorporates elements from the media and even famous traditional artworks to create something unique and distinctive.

“I have always been inspired by people and real life surroundings. I think that when people see their actual surroundings translated in a different manner in a creative form they feel a sense of wonder and can relate to the work, no matter how absurd the art may seem in the beginning,” says Karim.

Mona Lisa, Zihan Karim.

You'd think that an artist of such calibre and imagination must have always wanted to pursue a creative profession. But Karim didn't actively pursue art until he started taking painting lessons from artist Shanjib Dutta.
“I was interested in origami but I was also interested in electronics as a child. I would try to recreate images from newspapers and that probably was my way of practicing my drawing skills. When I felt my interest in art growing, I started training under Shanjib Dutta, and that's when I decided that I wanted to pursue art professionally,” says the talented artist.

As the sole participant from Bangladesh at the fifth Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial which consisted of 46 artists from 21 countries, Karim says that the triennial was more than just an art meet for talented artists. Instead of exhibiting their works in a closed gallery setting, artists were required to communicate and interact with people from all walks of life. Thus, the artists were able to include regular people to become an integral part of their creative endeavours.

Karim did three projects for the triennial and each was radically different from the other. The theme of the exhibition 'Panaroma of the Next World, Breaking Out into the Future' allowed him to experiment with new forms and media. The first work he exhibited at the triennial was a two-channel video called 'Light Fights Darkness, Darkness Fights Light' which will be shown at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum until November 30.

His second work was a site specific project 'From the Street,' which projected images from a video he made of regular people and objects on the streets of Fukuoka. “I discovered several yatais, which are moving food stalls, and even videoed street singers, restaurant workers, and people sleeping beside the river for this project, which was exhibited near a river on the day of Fukuoka's Lantern Festival,” says Karim. He adds that visitors really enjoyed this project as they could see the daily activities of their town from the eyes of a foreigner.

The third work that he did for the triennial is possibly the closest to Karim's heart, as it involved an actual cause that he had to promote. The project titled 'TO C' aimed to raise awareness regarding the Inari Mountain in the village of Itoshima in Japan, which until recently was revered among villagers as a symbol of farming and harvest. However, the mountain is in danger now as it is being used for commercial purposes by the city corporation.
“We tried to reconnect the villagers with the mountain by urging them to remember their feelings for this great structure,” says Karim. He worked on this installation project with Japanese artist Kenji Makijono, and they placed modern objects like toy cars and small tables in a natural setting. “I had to talk to several villagers, local artists and contemporary musicians during this project, something that I thoroughly enjoyed,” he adds.

TO C, collaboration project with Japanese artist Kenji Makijono, at the Itoshima Art Festival.

Karim is also the founder of Jog Art, an alternative art space formed in Chittagong in 2012. When asked why they call it an 'alternative art space,' Karim answered that this space aimed to promote dialogue and experimentation with a diverse range of visual media without any commercial intent. It definitely is different from mainstream art mediums and is applauded as one of the few endeavours in the country that encourages free thought and creativity. Jog Art's 'A Simple Death', conceptualised by Karim, forces us to acknowledge that art is far beyond the realms of forms and mediums.

“I used to interact with a day labourer who would sleep on a footpath near the Cheragi Pahar at night. With his permission, I would paint him while he slept. To my surprise, one day I heard that he had died. I was shocked to know that no one felt anything about that or even cared about his death,” says Karim. That's when he planned to hold a public exhibition that would project the video of the worker’s sleeping body on the streets. When asked about people's reaction regarding this project, Karim said that they were diverse and unexpected. “While some walked right past it, some were visibly moved by the scene.”

The definition of what constitutes as art is constantly changing all around the world, and yet, in Bangladesh we seem to be stuck in a rut when it comes to our art scene. Even though we get to see some experimental art forms, such as installation works, these are far and between. In fact installation and performance art are not even included in the syllabus of any Bangladeshi fine arts institute. Kabir states that even though there is an increasing interest in performance art in the country, we are far behind in terms of modern techniques and art forms. “Art is a language. We need to learn how best to communicate with our patrons and how to change our lingo with the changing times. It will take time but I'm positive that Bangladesh's art scene will soon experience a change for the better,” remarks Karim optimistically.