Cartoons and caricatures satirising the country’s socio-political turmoil done by leading cartoonists are on display at an on-going exhibition at the Bengal Art Lounge, Gulshan 1 in the capital.
Renowned cartoonists like Rafiqun Nabi and Shishir Bhattacharia have criticised the political situation of the country, whereas, Mehedi Haque and Zeeshan Khan’s artworks portrays the depictions of imaginary local superheroes in their comic strips.
The exhibition titled Very Graphic: The Art of Storytelling in Graphic Details houses 35 artworks of cartoons by 13 local and British artists. The exhibition is jointly organised by Bengal Foundation and The British Council Dhaka.
The caricatures include noted artist Rafiqun Nabi’s popular cartoon character Tokai, a street boy who earns his living by collecting paper trashes. The story in this comic strip satirises the so-called observance of World Children Day, the day when politicians deliver elaborate speeches and actually do nothing significant for the betterment of the street children.
Shishir Bhattacharia has gained sky-high acclamation for his political satire caricatures on different daily newspapers. One of Bhattacharia’s commended caricatures is on display at the exhibition.
A huge ugly bulky man with two muscular hands each titled ‘Corruption’ and ‘Bad Governance’ is seen squeezing a little, weak man titled ‘Human Rights’ through which the artist mocks the governance of the country.
Noted cartoonist Ahsan Habib’s comic character Biltu Bhai is also on display at the exhibition, along with British artist Kerry Franceman’s graphic comic that portrays the insides of the human abdomen.
Portions of Mehedi Haque’s comic titled Agni Naga, which is a story about the adventures of a daring private investigator named Saadi Haque; and Zeeshan Khan’s local superhero character Protirokkhi, which depicts a story about a university lecturer who fights criminals in disguise at night.
Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy has created a little girl named Rohini who wants to hear bedtime stories from her father.
The father tells her the stories of the great Muslim sufi fighter Hazrat Shah Jalal (R.A). Rohini listens to the stories, falls asleep, and finds herself in the adventures like Hazrat Shah Jalal in her dreams.
Unlike other caricatures, the characters of Rohini depict oriental art features of upright nose and large, stretchy eyes.
The other participating artists at the exhibition are Sabbhoshashi Misri, Intella Kazi Imam, Anika Marium Ahmed, Steven Harris, Saljar Rahman, Nuhash
Humayun, Asifur Rahman, Rio Shuvo, Faridur Rahman and Rajib.
The 26-day exhibition was inaugurated on November 16 and will remain open for everybody from 12:00pm to 8:00pm everyday till December 07.
-With New Age input
