The eternal relation of sky, earth and stream

আকাশ, মাটি, জল- sky, earth and water refers to the foundational physical and philosophical elements that prolongs human life, help build the structure of the human body and shape the earth’s existence. This philosophical aspects have become prominent in the recent group art exhibition at Lalmatia’s Bhumi Gallery with the same title-আকাশ মা জল.

The title carries a great weight as the title itself gives the audiences vibe of Rabindranath’s poem or songs, so did the artworks conveyed through three media of art-painting, printmaking and sculpture. Seven promising female artists- Jyutsna Mahbuba, Hoasna Banu Chotna, Zemrina Haque, Monidipa Dasgupta, Mukti Bhowmik, Fahmida Enam Kakoli and Nargis Akter Punam united together expressing their on perspective of Bangladesh’s changing six seasons along with the livelihood of its people.

The abstract artworks by Fahmida Enam Kakoli a series painting titled- Unsaid Unhealed at the entrance filled with seasonal colors that invites the visitors to explore the exhibition further. The right hall carries artworks of Mukti Bhowmik, along with Nargis Akter Punam, Zemrina Haque and other artists.

Mukti Bhowmik’s aluminum sculptures placed at the corner between two paintings showcases a female figure celebrating the seasons of Bangladesh. For me ‘ মঘ মা র িমতালী’ was the most expressive of the rainy season, among the figures of Bhowmik, a girl stepped in the mud, holding an umbrella in one hand and shoes on the other, bathing in rain, this portrays most free spirited woman we all want to become when rain falls. Other sculptures of the artist- শাখায় বঁাধা , জল পি নী, আকাশ মা ও জেলর অলস কাব কথা, মৃ য়ী ও তঁ ার সমা, মা র টােন জেল, াবণ ছায়া all these paintings carries the beauty of Bangladeshi nature through human figures.

Natures’s beauty, growth with bushy, textured layers on the canvas is Hoasna Banu Chotna’s style-Yet green, Faded Yet Holding, Marsh, Gleam, Clinging, Sprouting, The Pond, Canopy etc. catches the eyes of viewers where one might think these as an watercolor medium yet getting closer makes you realize the medium is in acrylic. Though nature carries beauty in it but due to human negligence the nature sometimes becomes violent too, Chotna tried to capture both sides through her works,In Memory of Nepal, Coronay Show Jhore Pore are the examples of her noticing the changes of nature.

Jyutsna Mahbuba’s most woodcut printings in the gallery are all inspirations taken from vegetable and flower plants, her work’s background is full green in which the leaves of the plants are in other shades of green making them visible; Dolonchapa, Lotus Leaf, Lady Finger. Some artwork carries the artist’s dreams, imaginations too- Ghar Mon, Floating on the Water Lily; where a female figure collects water lilies on a boat in rain.

The nature’s beauty gets enhanced just before it rains, when the gloomy sky and clouds plays along the wind, captured by Nargis Akter Punam. Her Pran Prokrity series contains the clouds and winds that changes the color of the environment and leaves a cold wind enjoyable for the nature itself, wild sugarcane scenery on hills and plane, ducks floating in a little water, boats in the seaside. Her paintings with human figures showcases their livelihood in nature, specifically beside waterbodies, capturing natures bounty.

The impressionist style of leaving the brushstrokes behind and encapsulate the earth is evident in Zemrina Haque’s paintings through- The End of the Day, Sorobor, Provat and Proticchobi. She in her huge painting -Swopno Dighi brought dream into reality. It seems to the eyes that the whole set is a rough, devastated nature between which the Sling Ring Portal of Doctor Strange appeared, showing the peace, serenity of nature through the blue hues that is being destroyed today. The artist may have thought of going back to that beautiful dighi that appeared in her dream.

The exhibition is not just showcasing the visitors the beauty of nature but make us aware of the natural disaster that is taking place due to the negligence and modernization of which we have become addicted to and trapped in tis sphere, forgetting what the earth once looked like, taking our own Bangladesh as an example, warning us of the danger we are into.