An artistic homage to the martyrs

Dr Azharul Islam Sheikh Chanchal, a Professor of the Department of Ceramics of the Faculty of Fine Art (FFA), University of Dhaka (DU), is showcasing an array of artworks in his third solo show titled "Mrittikanjali" at Zainul Gallery 1. Professor Emeritus Rafiqun Nabi along with renowned artists -- Mohammad Eunus, also the Chairman of Art Bangla Foundation, and Professor Nisar Hossain, also the dean of FFA, DU, -- graced the inaugural ceremony as distinguished guests on February 19. Prominent art critic and teacher Moinuddin Khaled has curated the exhibition. 

The exhibition reminds us of the martyrs, who, selflessly laid down their lives for the sake of our country. Blending with the century-old opulent heritage with a brilliant touch of modernity, Dr Chanchal has portrayed exquisite paintings on the canvas of soil. The glaze, coupled with marvelous use of colours, unparallel textures and decorative motifs has made every piece of his works poetic. The artist serenades the soulful songs of the soil through lyrical lines and luminous landscapes on the body of pottery. He has used stoneware pottery as media of all his works on varied sizes.

The artist feels an inseparable bond with the soul of the soil. His nostalgia still revolves around the wheel of the potters. The artist's unrelenting quest for rendering his subtle aesthetic senses into the purview of his artistic creations has so far made a hallmark of his own. Humans have struggled to survive since the dawn of civilisation. It has achieved excellence by struggling against various natural adversities.

The people of our country have fought wars at various stages. To establish our mother tongue 'Bangla', many people sacrificed their lives in the language movement of 1952. In the portrayal of this struggling self-sacrificing man, he felt a man burning with treachery and an expression of intelligent, selfless and simple existence hidden in the representation of working hands.

On the night of March 25, the Pakistani Military Junta carried out rampages and massacre in the entire city of Dhaka, including the Rajarbagh Police Line, the then EPR camp of Pilkhana, Dhaka University's Jagannath Hall, Ruqayyah Hall, and Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall. Millions of people lost their lives, the March 25th massacre was not just a night of killings, it was essentially a shameful chapter in world civilisation.

To make the Bengali nation bereft of talent, they chose the country's academicians, philosophers, doctors, writers, journalists, engineers, lawyers, and thousands of eminent personalities in the fiend of culture. This way, lakhs of lives have selflessly sacrificed.

"Although these self-sacrificing people have faded into the ground, they have been embodied in numerous expressions in history and in my consciousness drive me to create art in a permanent medium like ceramics," said Chanchal.

The artiste has used different clays, and glazes to give clarity to the spirit of the struggling people. "All these subject and medium studies are a relentless effort to express my artistic sense aesthetically," said Chanchal.  

The composition uses the raised hands as a symbol of justice, truth and possibility. Vertically arranged hands are overcoming hundreds of obstacles. Inspired by the historical consciousness, the active and struggling hands of Bengalis are associated with the self sacrificing faces. He has tried to arrange the collective talent and thousand of skills of the struggling people in a symbolic sense in the clay sculpture of my creative thoughts.

The artist roamed around entire Bengal and the world at large to accomplish his PhD dissertation "Ceramics of Bengal: Tradition to Contemporary." He is also a co-founder of Vertical, an art and craft research studio. He has so far held over a hundred exhibitions held both at home and abroad, accomplished works on varied media including terracotta, sculpture, mosaic and tiles, mural portrait, wood-metal and fountains including one – 29 portraits (bronze) of Mujibnagar Muktijoddha Smriti Kendra, Meherpur, Kushtia. He also received many awards and grants.

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The exhibition, running from 11 am to 8 pm daily, ends on February 28.