New York based Bangladeshi experimental artist Firoz Mahmud’s solo art exhibition titled Dismal Cry of Heritage is going on at the Bengal Gallery of Fine Art at Dhanmondi.
Most of the 31 artworks on display at the 10-day exhibition feature the historic Battle of Plassey, which is considered a turning point in the history of the subcontinent.
Important figures of the pivotal battle such as Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent ruler of the subcontinent, traitor Mir Jafar and the officials of the then British East India Company have been portrayed through the distinctive painting style of the artist, which he claims as ‘layapa paintings’ (done in stencil and oil paints following style of the rural artisans).
His semi-abstract novel painting ‘The Start of the End of the Reign of the Sub-continent’ gives a detailed picture of the Battle of Plassey featuring two counter armed forces—the Nawab force and the East India Company force—encountering each other from two opposite sides of the canvas.
The use of two contrasting colours—golden and dark chocolate—and symbolic motifs in the painting have successfully portrayed the result of the battle—fall of the Nawab forces.
‘Beginning of the end of an Era’ addresses the background of the fall of the Nawab forces in the battle symbolically portraying the key characters of the battle– Nawab Shiraj-Ud-Daula, the traitor Mir Jafar and Captain Robert Clive, the military officer of the East India Company.
Siraj-ud-Daulah and his consorts in sad mood set against the backdrop of the beginning of the colonial era in the sub-continent have been featured in paintings such as Lamentation and Sorrowful Cry of Heritage.
The New York based Bangladeshi artist Firoz Mahmud completed his PhD from Tokyo University of Arts, Japan. He also studied at the Royal Amsterdam University in Neitherlands under a scholarship offered by the Dutch government in 2003.
Foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes inaugurated the exhibition on Sunday, which will remain open from 12:00pm to 8:00pm till November 22.
-With New Age input
