An innovative language of rickshaw painting
Blending traditional and urban folk motifs, an innovative display of rickshaw art is now on at Zainul Gallery-1. ABM Rokon-uz-Zaman Sohel has beautifully incorporated his creative impulses to design varied-shaped wooden frames and patterns of rickshaw in his second solo exhibition titled “Journey by Rickshaw-2”.
Birds, animal forms, floral motifs, foliage and various elements of nature have been used on timber in making aesthetically designed paintings, home decors, masks and more. Renowned art critic Moinuddin Khaled has mentioned the arts as “Urban Folk” in his write-up for the catalogue. The tradition of rickshaw art is not very old and several artists, over the years, have become quite active to popularise the medium. Sohel, an alumnus of the Department of Craft, Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka (DU), has learnt the delicate methods and techniques of woodcarving, a time consuming and labour intensive work, to complete the featured artworks.
Greatly influenced by rickshaw painting, Sohel's lines are influenced by folk culture; but, he follows a distinctive style of his own that is quite similar to oriental style. He has focused film stars, rural life, vivid cityscapes, environmental issues, folk tales, feminine grace, peacock, human figures, flora and fauna and more on making his compositions. Even from the dried-up trees, Sohel thinks of the possibility of regenerating a new lease of life to his creation.
Creating different masks is also a passionate art pursuit by Sohel. The masks at the exhibit evoke primitive, tribal, modern, ancient African, Asiatic and original styles. No identical mask is displayed at the gallery and they express diverse moods of human mind.
The exhibition, opening daily from 11am to 7pm, was inaugurated on January 24 and will continue until January 30. Professor Md. Akhtaruzzaman, vice-chancellor of DU, inaugurated the exhibition as chief guest while renowned artist Abdus Shakoor Shah and Abdul Momen Milton, chairman of the Department of Crafts, DU, attended the ceremony as special guests. Professor Shishir Bhattacharya, Chairman of the Department of Drawing and Painting, DU, presided over the programme.
Comments