Portrait of a Cover Artist
Reesham Shahab Tirtho
An architect and artist, Reesham Shahab Tirtho, has stood out with his remarkable illustrations over the years. Often inspired by the work of Sabyasachi Hazra, Sabyasachi Mistry and Mehedi Haque, he believes that the contemporary artists of Bangladesh are producing world-class artworks these days.
This year, in the Ekushey Boi Mela, Tirtho has designed covers of books by renowned writers, including the likes of Habibullah Siraji and Khasru Choudhury. He is the creative mind behind the covers of Bangladesh Er Bagher Golpo by Khasru Choudhury, Aat Rohossho by Ahmed Riaz, Miltil by Habibullah Siraji, and One Down by Rashat Rahman Zico, among others.
As a cover artist, Tirtho attempts to not give any spoilers to the readers. “I generally read the scripts before designing a cover. When I design, I leave a few things to the readers' interpretation,” says Tirtho. “There will be no fun, if a reader can predict the story just by looking at the cover.” However, he makes sure the cover is relevant to the story of the book.
Among the different genres of books, he finds it difficult to design covers for children's books, since their psychology works differently than most adults. He mainly uses the digital medium.
Tirtho has few more covers on his plate for the Boi Mela, that he is currently working on, and he hopes that the fair stays well-organised this year.