Exhibition
Saying it with symbols
Fayza Haq
Rokunuzzaman Murshed feels that present life is like a myth -- that it is something that cannot be discarded or accepted totally, that it is full of mystery and cannot be comprehended fully. Some of his images hark back to the ancient caves where one found forms parallel to modern creations. His mixed media paintings can be seen at La Galerie at Alliance Francaise.Story of Modern Myth 12, done in 2004, brings in world leaders, Bush and Blair. They are presented as a horse and a bull. They appear quite attractive though they have beastly natures. "These two men carry themselves in a sophisticated manner and earn an attractive representation though at heart they are cruel and selfish," says the artist. One of the animals has its tongue protruding and eyes staring in a strange manner. The bull at the back is equally bewildering. Myth --14 has the depiction of a queen with a skull for a head and a single large eye. It has floral motifs at the back for decoration. It is oil on canvas with a touch of pastel. The face is in mysterious blue and white, set in a background of brown. Another picture in the series deals with the trouble with electricity in Chapainawabganj. A figure is shown dancing under a lamp while two are attacking a giant candle. The three figures with the lamp, the chimney and the candle are symbolic. Myth--16 depicts an apple and a vase and is painted with shades of orange and red. When the artist was doing this painting, he was in a state of equilibrium and so the use of bright, scintillating colours. The forms are shown in fragments that have been pieced together as a whole. Myth 5 has a piece of pottery with light being thrown from the back. The light stands for help and the pottery represents man. This is done in brown, blue and green. Myth-4 depicts a face that is positively frightening. In actuality the person bearing the face has seen something that is quite scary. This is in shades of burnt sienna, yellow ochre and white. Dust colour and gum coats the surface on which the paint has been applied. Another depiction entitled Myth brings a glowing calf innocent and attractive representing a woman of his choice. Myth-10 has a skull with faces which is a part of a bedroom scene where draping of the bed are hung with bones. This represents the mandaps for puja and mazars which the artists believes to be shallow and devoid of intrinsic values. Rokunuzzaman has done his masters in Fine Arts from University of Alternate Development (UDA). His teachers have been Shajahan Ahmed Bikash, Syed Azizur Rahman and Nisar Hussain. He came to Dhaka from Rajshahi with the hope of learning more from the frequent exhibitions held in the metropolis. He has participated in several group exhibitions.
| 
