Bridging the past and the future, all artworks displayed in artist Ronni Ahmmed's solo exhibition, NOOR, radiate the mysticism of Sufism. Organised and curated by ARTcon, the exhibition began at Bengal Art Lounge, Gulshan, on April 14. It will continue after the lockdown is lifted. A 3D virtual version of the exhibition is available on ARTcon's website.

Featuring 48 paintings and five installations, NOOR is a testament to Ronni Ahmmed's journey in Sufism. In addition, the works of this exhibition attest to the artist's feat of combining mediums, both traditional and digital, with technology.

For his installations, Ronni Ahmmed used Artificial intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), GoPro videos and drones. But perhaps the most striking work of this exhibition is his duology, Seventh Mokam and Taslima's Garden. With the use of VR and GoPro respectively, the short films depict the tale of afterlife.

"I wanted to give people the sense of time travelling. The cutting edge technology that has been used represents the future and the Islamic beliefs; the concept of Sufism represents the past.  I wanted to bridge them both through my works, in the present," the artist said.

"The majar centric sufism practice, an uncharted part of our history, the beauty of Islam, the love of both the Almighty and the Prophet (PBUH), the love I have towards them, the faith, the devotion, the journey of the soul in its entirety — I wanted to express it all through my art," he added.

A graduate of Charukola, DU, Ronni Ahmmed's artistic language developed quite early. Spirituality had an influence on him from the start, however, it took years until his language took the current form. Initially politically charged, his images were replaced by poetical ones, as is evident in his 100-foot long Archaeology of Noah's Arc , an exceptional feat. His installation Tomb of Kara Qoez, has been showcased in Venice, at OPEN 24.

His other solo exhibitions include Untitled (2002), Mythoronnia (2004), Archaeology of Noah's Ark (2005), and Tales of Pseudo Myth (2006).

As a practitioner of Sufism, "the realm of soul" or the spiritual plane, is one of the biggest subjects of his works. The artist states that, rather than the mind, he is more concerned with the soul, so, his gaze shifted from the seen to the unseen. Ronni Ahmmed hopes to connect the people with the two realms through his art. The artist uses local products for his works as well.

Be it past, present, future or materialism and spirituality, his works aspire to blend them all.

"The materialistic world is ephemeral; however, the soul is eternal. Humans attain freedom when they can get closer to the soul," Ronni Ahmmed said.

Once lockdown restrictions are withdrawn, in-person visits at the gallery will be possible based on appointments, between 12 noon and 8 pm.

The author is a master's student of Mass Communication and Journalism at Dhaka University, and a freelance journalist. Email: corvixcorux97@gmail.com