“Daring, bold, charismatic, confident, enigmatic and ‘heeled’; all these words can be used to describe a prima donna, and consequently Nazia Andaleeb Preema. As the face of Brand Forum Bangladesh, Preema is known as a force to be reckoned with. As an artist, in the last few years Preema has been making video works, which probe at social notions of the feminine, such as domesticity, fertility, and sensuality. But in this exhibition, we see a less tailored, less polished side of Preema. One which is scared, fragile and vulnerable, and yet courageous enough to put herself on display.” Prima donna is an Italian word which literally means ‘first lady’ and was originally used to identify the main female character in an opera play.

‘Ichi-go ichi-e’ in Japanese Nihogo means meeting something or someone for the first time. But to experience it on the land of culture and concord was not my first time. I rambled and wandered in my thoughts of escaping all that was going on around and I categorically departed myself at Fukuoka, Itoshima village in Japan. It was my month long residency program at Studio Kura.

My Staring Women series talks about the inner power of women in general. It captures our social transformation. Around 2008 the black veil started over powering our community, especially in urban society. It was a major shift in terms of dress code for our women. Culturally we always practice and promote secularism. For me it does not matter whether the woman is veiled or unveiled though I noticed this change took place in our society. Later on, I realized it’s a global shift in the name of religion. It’s a political agenda for sure which still going on in our society and day by day it’s increasing without knowing the real fact of the matter.