July uprising 'Graffiti' captivates World Expo visitors in Japan

Visitors to the Bangladesh Pavilion at the World Expo-2025 Osaka, Japan are pausing in awe before the striking displays of graffiti that lined the Dhaka streets during the July uprising in 2024 turning the walls into canvases of resistance, where the youth painted their grievances and aspirations.

A dedicated zone was set up inside the Bangladesh Pavilion with the title 'Graffiti: Art for Freedom, Art of the Youth' featuring around 50 selected pieces of graffiti along with a brief description titled 'Indomitable Youth' in a digital display describing the country's youth's rising.

The visitors coming from around the globe were seen pausing in awe before the graffiti corner and taking pictures with curiosity to know about it and asking the attendants about the stories and symbols behind the graffiti.

After visiting the graffiti corner and history miniature, Sebastion Behnar, who came from Germany to visit the expo, admired Bangladeshi people's resilience and determination to earn everything through struggle, terming its people as a strong and persevering nation.

"We used to hear about the factories of Bangladesh but nothing about its landscape. That's something new we learned today. I think it's good if people stand for their point and for their freedom...feels like a strong country. Keep on doing that," said Sebastion.

Amira Afiqah, a student of Universiti Utara Malaysia, who became introduced with the political context of Bangladesh after watching Al Jazeera's investigative documentary titled 'All the Prime Minister's Men' published in 2021, expressed his interest to know further about the politics of Bangladesh.

"I became highly inspired to know more about Bangladesh when I was doing an academic assignment on Al Jazeera's documentary on Bangladesh. A few things became clearer to me today after having more knowledge about its history and the recent uprising from the displays," she said after taking pictures with her friends in front of the graffiti zone.

"Each piece of graffiti carries a distinct theme, and collectively, offers a comprehensive representation of the movement's core messages. Key themes include the sacrifice of the young generation for the future of Bangladesh, the pressing need for state and nation's reform, and a strong stance against various forms of inequality," said Md Shajebur Rahman, Director of Bangladesh Pavilion.

"There is a significant level of public interest in the graffiti, with people actively taking photographs of the artwork, often more so than other subjects as the uprising got huge global attention," he said, adding, "Visitors are not only observing the artwork but also documenting it through photography and sometimes, read the graffiti book with huge enthusiasm."

During the oppressive years under the Awami League's rule, when freedom of expression was stifled by censorship, surveillance and torture, graffiti emerged as a potent form of resistance, a canvas for the hopes, fears, and defiance of ordinary citizens.

When the AL government increasingly restricted free speech, cracked down on political dissent, and implemented internet shutdowns, the walls, adorned with messages of resistance, poetry, and art, became powerful storytellers, echoing the voices of dissent and the yearning for change.

According to the pavilion officials, Bangladesh pavilion draws huge crowds each day with its artistic decoration, wooden structure and beautiful products from the very beginning of the expo.

The pavilion was designed with 17 zones and six miniatures depicting the country's heritage and displaying goods of different industries, explaining the transformation of an agrarian economy to a strong export-led one.

Each zone was designed with a showcase displaying products and symbols, a brief description, a digital display screening audio visual and a tablet to let the visitors get better understanding in details by operating it themselves while a dedicated zone was set up on the '2024 mass uprising' displaying the graffiti of the movement.

The pavilion with its 17 digital display units along with a LCD giant screen and physical exhibits talks about the glorious past of the Bengal, rich culture and traditions of its people, the uniqueness of the landscape as well as its prosperous future ahead, fraught with investment opportunities via digital and physical exhibits.

The nation's emergence and rising, culture and heritage and Investment potentials were presented to the world through diorama, three-dimensional representation of a scene, in the six miniatures with the titles - '1952-1971-2024: Indomitable Youth Spirit', 'Culture and Festivity', 'Largest Delta on Earth', 'Land of Rivers and Fertility', 'Muslin: The Woven Heritage of Bangladesh' and 'Industrial Progress of Bangladesh'.

The exhibition title of the Bangladesh Pavilion is " Connecting Lives: A Symphony of Tradition and Innovation".

The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo opened to the public on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay on Sunday with many visitors flocking to popular spots. Under the theme of "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," 158 countries and regions are participating in the expo, which is scheduled to last through Oct. 13.

Since 1851, World Exposition ( "EXPO" in short) - a platform of nation branding- has been showcasing invention, innovation and the creation of enduring technological, architectural and cultural advancement represented by the exhibition pavilions of nations worldwide.