Ink, charcoal, and watercolours: Inner Passages by Tasmina Khan Majles

Emotions like happiness, pensive moods, and distractions from reality tug you at heart, and the only means of comforting the restless mind is through expressing these sensations or sentiments by any means possible.

Exactly pegging on this thought, Tasmina Khan Majles, the talented multidisciplinary artist of Bangladeshi heritage, has taken the brush to channel her inner psyche that is a weave of her conscious and unconscious mind through painting.

"Ink, charcoal, and watercolour have that fluid beauty of the mind and its innate creative force. Ink flows and I resonate it with life," Majles says, while talking about her first solo art exhibition, titled 'INNER PASSAGES,' held recently in the capital's Dhaka Gallery.

She continues, "Inner Passages is an art journal of my transformation during the 262 days of the pandemic lockdown in Melbourne. It was a trying time as an artist. I wanted to document that emotion. I curated the images of my inner being during the pandemic when my mind was silent and also show the duality of how interactive it became post-pandemic."

The three-day exhibition attracted a significant number of visitors and was graced by eminent visual artist Kanak Chapa Chakma, and painter Dr Mohammad Iqbal, who is the Professor and Chairman of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, as the Guest of Honour.

Born and brought up in Dhaka, art was her calling and she followed it up with a double Master's degree in Creative Arts and Communication studies. She feels she could successfully give the suave Dhaka art lovers an immersive experience with meditative music and installations of the soulful journey into the realm of artistic ingenuity and emotional resonance of the human mind.

"The paintings explore the dualities of lived experiences and the interconnections of the oneness we feel with everything in existence. The birds in my paintings are a metaphor to represent the freedom of the soul and is also a mode of self-reflection," Majles says.

Praising the craftsmanship of Dhaka's printing and framing businesses, she concluded, "My printers and framers are the true heroes behind the scenes. Dhaka Gallery got me in touch with an excellent team who could rise to the challenge of my finicky guidelines. These craftsmen, with such raw potential, are only needed to be connected to the right people, and given the right exposure to put up a successful exhibition."

Tasmina Khan Majles' art is more than a mere creative expression. It is rewarding, and an honest reflection of the human soul.

To learn more about her work, visit www.tasminakmajles.com

Photo: Courtesy