AND STARE CONTINUES
I always believed that art is a process and I need to walk through this process to identify my inner strength. These are the years that I heard my inner calling truly to express what I am looking for as an artist.
I always believed that art is a process and I need to walk through this process to identify my inner strength. These are the years that I heard my inner calling truly to express what I am looking for as an artist.
For me, as an artist, it is important to cover everything: from the emotional to the literal. In order to do so, I give myself a very tough time. My emotional veil-at-times becomes my weakness, but most of the time it reflects and projects strength of the soul of my existence beyond gender and other stereotypical issues.
Allaaho Laa Elaaha Illaa Howa, Al-Hayyul Qayyoomo, Laa Taakhozohu Senatuwn Walaa Nawmun, Lahu Maa Fis Samaawaate Wa Maa Fil Arze, Man Zal Laze YashFa-O’ I’ndahu Illaa Be-Iznehi, Ya’lamo Maa Bayna Aydeehim Wa Maa Khalfahum, Wa Laa Yoheetoona Be Shayim Min I’lmehi Illaa Bemaa Shaaa-A, Wase-A’ Kursiyyohus Samaawaate Wal Arza, Wa Laa Ya-Oodohu Hifzohomaa, Wa Howal A’liyyul A’zeemo.
Dreams should be like this: surreal, alluring and fascinating. More I go far from this crowd; more I get closer to my dreams. I can remain lone for thousand years, thousand years of solitude in ‘Ico-lation’. This much ice I can have. I should share its history. It was 2014 when I started chewing ice cubes. It was strange, weird but very intense.
‘Aged with Cell Phone’ is a video art performance where I connected myself with various time, space, and dialogues through different reactions. Certainly, it suggests the changing attitude towards various situations-at-a time because of the gifts of the digital era. Being-at-one place, now we connect to many, respond and react differently within seconds whether through social networking sites or text messages in phones. A big transition of dialogue, monologues has been occurring, therefore it creates a new time and space.
‘News Agony’ is a mixed media art performance where I have imprisoned myself with news projection all around, as well as it can be interpreted that my body also symbolizes ‘news’ which is entrapped inside politics. News is like monster! Mass people are soaked by invalid, useless monologues every day because of news.
It’s our subconscious that make us feel conscious. Though we act like we connect with our darkness, but we seldom realize what we believe. I perform to connect through the usual elements and objects to make the subconscious unconventionally visible.
We lack connection among us, with nature as well. We are all separate individuals and we apprehend to be connected. This is the conflict I wanted to explore and portray in my performance entitled ‘Intimacy Conflict’ held in Japan. With two Japanese words I would prefer to describe my performance: ‘Wabisabi’ and ‘Kintsukuroi’. The former one refers to a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and peacefully accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay. And the latter word is the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver, joining the pieces and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. Getting indulged for a month into Japanese culture, tradition and their immense natural humbleness towards life and art, somehow, helped me in 2016 to recover from that nightmarish evening of July 1-at-Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka. Art makes me feel alive. So I need to find for myself a place to free my inner inhibition, an environment that would allow me to break any rule-at-any point.
In order to know me, I need to forget what I have learnt. Thereby, I can recreate my existence over the societally constructed existence that controls my ideologies. There comes my performance entitled ‘Shotta: Existence’ where I am seeking myself. In principle, I just follow my instincts.
You got unbearable sharp edges. It’s no longer comfortable. I’m in dangerous discomfort, because of your sharp edge; as deep as my skin goes, as deep as the air blows, I am falling down from, here to the grave, as long as I could crave. It’s silent like a long blue ultramarine sea, where you and me, will disappear !
Cage, throw-out all age, I am inside a red tunnel, where light passes through; but air still blows, yes it does grow. Break free the confirmed cage of limitless conditions
Even I try Even I try Even I try hard enough;
It was Commward (Communication Award of Bangladesh) in 2016 where I was supposed to deliver a speech-at-the ceremony. My idea was to connect the audience, space and the context. Because for me it’s important that through performances I intend to enter into a new space of reality. It was against boredom.
In the city there are many intersections. It is divided as well as connected by intersections. City breaks us, also joins us. I and the city create a story each time I meet its roads. The roads of the city describe our undefined destinations. Yet we thrive to go through the intersections to meet our goals. But we overlook often the journey, and only pay heed to the ‘intention’ of destination, whereas the journey is chaotically poetic to hold on. In this performance, I intend to cross the road to go to the next level. I am continuously crossing the road to go to my destination. Yet I am-at-the same place where I started. There lies the philosophy of this act. I will start the walk with playful manner with joy but I don’t know where it will end. My performance will influence me to go to the next level, which I am yet to explore.
Live art performance has bloomed as a new language of art where performers can communicate without language, even gestures and actions in group performances give birth to an abstract form of visual live art. Therefore, live art performance extends the stereotypical definition of art and pushes the boundaries of conventional media that project art. Preema revealed, “Art makes us go beyond our imagination. It serves the possibility to perform what one cannot even imagine because of its instinctive spontaneous nature. It also explores new possibility to reach to the next level challenging own limits. When I got the invitation, it sounded to me as a new journey to explore my potentials in a new context that will engage my ability as a performer to a very new atmosphere. Moreover, I was over-enthusiastic to watch and perform with the other international artists.” Art is such a storytelling tool that is believed to connect the audience with a context. And the traditional art form in Bangladesh, often, seems a one-way road of communication.
When artists are from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Mexico, Netherland, Slovakia, USA, Poland, Denmark, India, Finland, Hungary, Portugal, and Bangladesh, it can be said without a hitch that live art performance surely promotes interculturalism. Such events serve the artists to have various cultural interactions combining the methods of one culture with those of the others.