From the Heart of Bangladesh Rafiqun Nabi, At Noon in the Field 2014 acrylic on canvas, 89 cm x 89 cm
Message from Vice-Chancellorthe Deakin University is delighted to be supporting this exhibition celebrating the art of Bangladesh. At the heart of our purpose as a university is education and research, and through these activities maximising the positive social and cultural impact we make locally and globally. We cannot achieve this aim without strong and innovative partnerships. As we state in our Strategic Plan, Deakin 2030: Ideas to Impact, “Great universities build bridges; they strive for connection and broaden their understanding of diverse peoples and places” – we want to teach, learn and collaborate with the best minds in the world. Art helps us build those bridges, developing empathy across cultures which can lead to a deeper understanding and genuine engagement. We sincerely thank collectors Mr Atiq Rahman and Dr Nira Rahman for making their collection available to display and for their commitment to putting together such an impressive selection of works by prominent Bangladeshi artists. Thank you also to the High Commissioner for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Mohammad Sufiur Rahman and the Australian High Commissioner, Jeremy Bruer for their generous comments.
MonirulRight: Islam Black Angel 2015 collage and oil on paper 78 cm x 22 cm
Portrait
Atiq Rahman & Nira Rahman
From the Heart of Bangladesh
About the collectors
SamarBelow: Majumder Inspiration of Liberation War 2022 acrylic on paper 56 cm x 74 cm Image supplied
Atiq Rahman works in International Aid and Development, managing donor funded projects across Asia and the Pacific. Dr Nira Rahman is an academic in the Arts Teaching Innovation at the Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne. For Atiq and Nira, while Bangladesh is their ‘birthland’, Australia is the ‘birthland’ for their only daughter Ahelee. And after building a life in this adopted community and culture, over the last twenty-one years Australia has become their ‘homeland’. Art – music, paintings, sculptures, literature, drama and other art forms – have all played an essential part in constructing their fundamental sense of self as people, as Australians, as Bangladeshis; and as BangladeshiAustralians. In their words – ‘art reflects culture, and culture is what makes us who we are. We are honoured to share some of our collection, our culture and therefore who we are with the wider community through Deakin University’.
The art of Bangladesh also manifests the cultural identity of the people of the land. It embodies the social and political changes that have transformed the nation and its people through history. The emergence of Bangladesh as a nation state in 1971 and the process of its emergence has been instrumental in the direction of art in Bangladesh. It tells the stories of common people of the land and showcases the components of the unique ‘Bangalee’ identity that is constructed through the language, tradition and culture of the land. While the beautiful and lustrous landscape of the land is ubiquitous in the art of Bangladesh, its people, representation of their national and cultural identity and their sense of ‘self ’ provide a rich source for Bangladeshi artists to draw upon in their art. The creation of the notion of the ‘Bangalee’ identity of the people of Bangladesh is a result of the amalgamation of multiple cultures, traditions, philosophies and religious beliefs over centuries. Bangladeshi artists have drawn on different aspects of traditions at different times in attempts to reflect and create new identities. Their work showcases historical events, which have created traditions and brought changes to imagined ones. Through their artwork, they represent the everyday life and lifestyle, livelihood, festivals – overall spirit and spirituality of the people of the land. The art of Bangladesh symbolises its people and scrutinises what they Whilesignify.theimpact of the local and national politics of identity formed through the selection and invention of tradition is evident in the art of Bangladesh, international political, economic, environmental and social concerns which intimately connect the globalised world, come to feature in the works of Bangladeshi artists too. And these unique characteristics of Bangladeshi art which interpret global scenarios through a lens of symbolic language, tradition and culture of land, have continued to showcase the distinctive, powerful identity of Bangladeshi art in the world art scene.
Art, in its many forms, is the most powerful medium of cultural expression of a land and its people. Their culture denotes their way of living, their values, their hopes and their dreams, by providing its people with an identity that makes them unique and distinct from others. Art simultaneously creates and showcases that identity, allowing history, imagination and emotion to intertwine. It stands apart, because it allows something that is so hard to capture – the heart and soul of its people – to stand still, to be passed on, and to form connections and forge impressions with all those who have the privilege of being in its presence. Therefore, we can understand the culture of any land and its people through its Artart.isnot merely entertainment, nor is it ‘luxury goods’. Art is culture. It speaks for its people, often acting as the one powerful voice that can be heard over the conflicted masses.
I invite you to join us to celebrate this wonderful collection at Deakin in the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Bangladesh.
The curatorial vision behind the exhibition ‘From the Heart of Bangladesh’ is to show and tell the story of the land and its robust people through the display of artworks by Bangladeshi master painters. This exhibition represents the unique art world of Bangladesh as it narrates the spirit and spirituality of its people who represents the soul of the country. These paintings have each carefully and uniquely captured the heart and soul of Bangladesh, its people and its rich culture that has spanned centuries. While these beautiful artworks display the landscape, people and emotion of the land, this exhibition is more than a showcase of paintings from Bangladesh. It is a celebration of the cultural connection, communication and collaboration between the peoples of Bangladesh and Australia since their bilateral diplomatic relationship was formed fifty years ago. With this hope, Atiq and Nira Rahman, a BangladeshiAustralian couple are sharing their personal art collection with the wider community to foster a deeper conversation on how we can enhance our cultural understanding and empathy to connect better with others, through art and other mediums.
Professor Iain Vice-Chancellor,MartinDeakin University photograph supplied by Subirs Photography
From top (left to right): Monirul Islam Maya’s Dream 1986 etching and aquatint 66 cm x 101 cm Qayyum Chowdhury Symphony 4 2014 acrylic on canvas 92 cm x 76 cm Kanak Chanpa Chakma Festival 2016 acrylic on canvas 61 cm x 76 MohammadcmIqbal Distant Skies 22 2021 oil on canvas 61 cm x 51 cm Abdus Shakoor Shah Story 1 2017 oil and acrylic on canvas 76 cm x 91 cm
From top (left to right): Shahabuddin Ahmed Bull 2020 oil on canvas 130 cm x 90 cm Farida Zaman Memorable 2021 acrylic on canvas 91 cm x 91 cm Image MonsursuppliedUlKarim 1 (The mother never knew) 2017 acrylic on canvas 62 cm x
76 cm Qayyum Chowdhury Untitled 2008 water colour on paper 38 cm x 56 cm
Janani
From top left to right): Shahabuddin Ahmed Tigre du Bengal (Bengal Tiger) 2011 oil on canvas 37 cm x 128 cm Karu Titas Jol Jochnai (In Luminescence) 2012 acrylic on canvas 91 cm x 71 cm Rafiqun Nabi Janak (The father of the nation) 2011 water colour on paper 33 cm x 47 cm Abdul Mannan Portrait of Tagore 2010 dry pastel on paper 52 cm x 39 cm cm Cosmos 1990 oil on canvas 73 cm
SheikhBelow Afzal Untitled 2011 acrylic on canvas 51
x 61 cm ShahabuddinRight Ahmed
x 60 cm
From top (left to right): Kanak Chanpa Chakma A Golden Day 2018 acrylic on canvas 51 cm x 61 cm Biren Shome Bangabandhu-11 (The Friend of Bengal) 2016 acrylic on board 30 cm x 40 cm Farida Zaman Sufia and Fishing Net 2014 acrylic on canvas 92 cm x 76 cm Ferdousy Priobhashini Nightly Shrine 2017 31metalcm x 49 cm RanjitBelow:Das Images and Reflections 3 2014 acrylic on canvas 89 cm x 89 cm SahidRight: Kazi Crow 2017 acrylic on canvas 76 cm x 91 cm
26 August – 30 September 2022 Deakin providingforherworkwhotoexhibitionandgenerouslyAtiqwouldTheBrochureCode:Deakinwww.deakin.edu.au/art-collection/ET221MelbourneDeakinindicatedPhotographyhelddowithinrightthewithoutproducedapublicationhis/herthetographers©Open:Burwood221MelbourneBuildingBurwoodUniversityLibraryGalleryVBurwoodcampusBurwoodHighwayVIC31258.00amto9.00pmeveryday.2022theartist,theauthors,thephoandpublisher.Copyrighttoworksisretainedbytheartistanddescendants.Nopartofthismaybecopied,storedinretrievalsystem,transmittedorreinanyformorbyanymeansthepriorwrittenpermissionofpublisherandtheindividualcopyholder(s).Theviewsexpressedarethoseoftheauthor(s)andnotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsbyDeakinUniversity.SimonPeterFoxunlessUniversityArtGalleryBurwoodCampusBurwoodHighwayBurwood3125+61392445344artgallery@deakin.edu.auUniversityCRICOSProvider00113Bdesign:JasminTulkDeakinUniversityArtGalleryliketothankthecollectorsRahmanandDrNiraRahmanforsharingtheirartcollectionalltheirassistancewithputtingthetogether.Wewouldalsolikethanktheartistsandtheirfamilieskindlyallowedimagesoftheirtobereproduced,JasminTulkforbrochuredesign,SimonPeterFoxhisphotographyandthelibraryforsuchawonderfulvenue.Facebook.com/ArtDeakinTwitter.com/ArtDeakinInstagram.com/deakinartgalleryizi.travel-DeakinArtCollectionandsculpturewalkguidesJamal Ahmed Gypsy Woman 2012 acrylic on canvas 61 cm x 76 ShahabuddincmAhmed Stretching 2019 oil on canvas 54 cm x 65 cm Rokeya Sultana Stardust 2020 tempara on canvas 61 cm x 61 cm From the Heart of Bangladesh Samarjit Roy Choudhury Flying Bird 2017 acrylic on canvas 61 cm x 76 cm Biren Shome Motherland-2 2019 acrylic on canvas 50 cm x 71 cm
