The muses of artist and curator Zihan Karim

Chattogram-based visual artist Zihan Karim has curated a show at "Chobi Mela" for the second time. This year, the festival welcomes an energetic ensemble of South Asian artists to explore how they are dealing with these uncertain times.

Titled "Chobi Mela Shunno", the event is being held from February 12 to 21 at the newly opened DrikPath Bhobon. Located at Panthapath, the building is designed by noted architect Bashirul Haq.

Karim curated a re-reading with 14 artists from various disciplines, who have come together to form the Chobi Mela Fellows section with "Bodh"/Intellection". It is an ensemble of multidisciplinary artists who interpret and add to Jibanananda Das's poem of the same name.

Karim himself, known for his large-scale video installation in the Asian region, has been trying his hand at curation over the last couple of years. He studied painting at Chittagong University, and is currently an associate professor there at the Department of Applied Art. In a conversation with The Daily Star, he talked about the process of working with fellow artists and more.

"I think there are several generations of faculties working in fine art institutes, where people are interested in different art movements. This bars photography to be included in such institutes," said Karim, about the practice of photography in Bangladesh. "I am personally influenced by art movements which heavily used images, especially Dadaism."

According to Karim, most of the fellows' work is really personal. 

On the other hand, Farzana Hossen's work is a photographic examination of a saturated relationship between a single mother and her son, as a separation shapes their relationship uniquely. Karim was not interested in exhibiting her work on a wall. So, he came up with a book-sculpture format, which the artist will give to her teenage son at the end.

"The vacuum that the pandemic has brought into our lives has been positive for me so far, as I was able to build new dreams in these critical times," concluded Karim.