& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Bold, Beautiful and Benign

by Fayza Haq
MURSHIDA Arzu Alpana and Suralya Chowdhury held a Joint exhibition of eye-catching oils, etchings and combined mediums, at 'La Galeric" recently. The colours excited one: the figures pervaded one's mind; the themes fascinated one's sleepy bearing at 10 am on a weekend: while the display was a clever one, with the ny ton and chiffon backdrop of scarlet, black, olive green, and magenta drapery. The pale wooden frames of Suralya and Alpana's olive ones arrested the spectator's attention— the main exhibit apart. A tot depends on presentation tn art displays, dining and sales of any items — ranging from magazines and medicines to clothes and Jewellery— as one knows full well.
In Alpana s "Frightened Child with Mother" one saw a woman bedecked In a white necklace, cobalt-bluc and magenta bangles. The face and body, along with the hair, had been done with confident and swift strokes. The child at the right, had a frightened appearance. with innocent features and hair in braids. The mother was markedly modem but the child was far from affected The painting depicted bold. ’ modern mothers who had a hold over their children in the present times. This work was in oil brush work, as were all of Alpana's other pieces.
"Secret Talk with Myna" delineated a delectable, mod ern woman — bereft of clothes, with S necklace with 4' turquoise pendant. "The woman was so alone that she took recourse to talking with the pet bird, taken out of the cage", the artist explained. The piece was bubbling with colours and highlights — which Include geranium lake, ultra marine, cadmium yellow, and plenty of beige. "1 usually use four main colours with variations tn all my work." the artist elaborated
In "Petrie with Multiple visionone could sec the same persons having different visions. as Alpana, explained. There were five figures of different sexes to be seen. The men were bare, chested while the women were heavily clad. The eyes were depicted in various shapes, sizes and angles. The entree was interesting and absorbing.
“Reaching the Moon" was a landscape with rocks. "When 1 had gone to Chittagong for an artists’ camp. 1 was inspired by nature around me. and thia Is the product," Alpana commented. The backdrop of the sky was cobalt blue with ultra-marine. The cliffs were tn cadmium red. yellow ochre, while the forefront had splashes of white. The impact remained impressionistic.
There was a fascinating^ seml-abstract piece “Grandmother with Fairy Talcs" by the same artist. The forms had been somewhat distorted, and lines of brush strokes had been used as colour patches. The grandmother. with the dark child, was seen telling stories of a white snake, in the forefront, a kite painted In grey and light red; while there was a dog and a washerman's donkey, seen In grey. The last two items were depicted well as they usually do not take to each other.
There was a representation of a man and woman in close proximity in the backdrop in Tear Away" by the same artist. The image symbolised the close relationship between a man and his beloved, as courtship or marriage progressed. The figures In the forefront were women, depicted as lamenting tn heavy shrouds. A fair measure of black had been used to enhance the depiction of the separations and divorces, and other bitter existence that prevail tn our society. This is
based on factors. I have known of four cases among my friends and acquaintances, and this is no myth or fabrication." the young artist explained.
A musical scene was depicted too by Alpana and here she showed the women as being older than the actual models were. She wished to depict the maturity and absorption of the players. The beige and crimson lake were balanced well with the darker hues.
Dwelling on the contemporary scene of art in Bangladesh Alpana remarked. “I don t believe that wc are westernised. The western art is highly publicised whereas we have more depth and maturity In our work which goes back to centuries. We have a multicultural impact in our work." Talking about problems In getting materials, the artist said that after attending the environment workshop arranged by the Goethe Institut. she now knew that she could create out of stones, broken glass, torn baskets and even paper bags. Alpana was no longer worried about purchasing expensive papers and colours. She sings, and writes poetry as her hobbies. She has been lecturing at the Institute of Fine Arts. Dhaka, for seven months.
Suralya,. the other artist, was no less mature or engaging in her displays. Of a more serious deportment, her vision too , reiinajifed, lesSsjEOPtatlc than. that of Alpana’s, but this Is not to say that her llthos or paintings were tn any way inferior in charm or visual Impact.
Her pen and ink sketch "Nature" had flowers, bumble bees and even a butterfly. Thia symbolised the affection In every heart, the artist explained. This is the*rcallty of life whether pcopK notice or admit it or not." the artist elaborated. The strokes were’ exquisitely feminine and fine.
The litho "Endless Altey" depicted a never ending road with a white patch at the end that stressed the concept of Infinity. The >ight_posts and trees were In yellow ochre and green, outlined by black. The Image was one of sheer tranquillity. Twilight* had the same lane In mind, but had been depicted in the evening. Done In sap green, black and grey. It showed the change of nature on a same spot
Suralya’s "Rolling Feels of Kashbon" was also a Htho. and had been inspired by a scene of a railway line with weeds and light posts at Shanttnlkclan. where she had studied. The vertical and horizontal lines held the composition In complete harmony.
A dancing figure had been shown In "Play of Light of Dancing Figure"; The dancer, with the stage shadow, had brought in a double Image. Here the artist had used rollers on three surfaces and had employed three colours: light emerald green, pink and pale blue.
The three depletion of bougainvillaeas showed blossoms falling over the porch of a house. It was fascinating to note how the artist had shown the same scene at different times of the day, using different hues and giving a scintillating seml-nbstract Impact-
Voicing her opinion on the present art scenario tn the country, Suralya had this to comment. “I feel that we have yet to cstsblisW bur known style. Ours is a conglomeration of various themes and media: and wc have not yet acquired an Identity of our own." Suralya works at a school for mentally retarded children at New Circular Road, apart from her artistic pursuits.
The display showed what a couple of women could offer the critical art lover, having combined their Ingenuity and technical finesse — their Imagination and dreams apart.