‘Impossible Questions', uncomfortable truths

Walking into Dwip Gallery, I catch a screen from the corner of my eye. I see a figure looking over a screen, and it doesn't take long to realise that it is me. My eyes follow the mirror right above it, all the way to the camera staring right at me, and I can't help but feel watched, and without thinking, I stand a little straighter. 

This installation, titled 'Voyeuristic', is part of the 'Impossible Questions' exhibition at Dwip Gallery in Lalmatia. 

The exhibition is a compilation of works by five artists–A Asan, Bazlur Rashid Shawon, Dhiman Sarkar, Mong Mong Shay, and Shaik Faizur Rahman–centred on how power structures shape our way of thinking and ultimately the way we question society. The title itself refers to the questions the artists pose to society.

The exhibition concept was born from conversations among friends, questioning society and its power structures. The five friends then decided to turn their questions into art, resulting in 'Impossible Questions'.

Shawon's piece 'Voyeuristic' was the perfect introduction to the exhibition. 

"It is a reflection of the self-censorship that takes place once we see ourselves," shared Shawon. 

He also shares how the mirror creates a reflection in the surveillance footage that creates a type of infinity mirror, where an infinite loop is created. 

Another piece where visitors instantly gathered around was A Asan's untitled piece, which is an installation made of fabric. Made of fabric, the piece depicts a human figure that is so large that it towers over visitors with its head bent over itself. While Asan generally leaves interpretations up to the viewers, she shares a little about the inspiration behind the piece. It reflects how, no matter how large the figure is, it is confined by its environment, similar to how people are confined by society.

"All the fabric used here is from people I personally know. I wanted to explore the life in these garments–from the people who created them to the people who lived their lives wearing them," shared Asan. 

Artist Shaik Faizur Rahman's painting, 'Two Performer', also provides an interesting commentary on media. The lower half of the canvas depicts a mouse that looks like it is caught in a trap, the trap being a camera's frame. 

Mong Mong Shay's three-canvas piece, 'Your Heaven Demands Hell' also depicts a powerful imagery of destruction and human-inflicted violence, which feels like a depiction of current times. 

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With the Logang River by A Asan

The painting is based on the Logang massacre in Khagrachari in 1992. As pictures of the massacre resurfaced, the artist felt compelled to create a piece on Khagrachari's devastating history. The abstract piece depicts a river of blood, referring to the lives that were lost. In the corner of the painting is a pair of baby shoes, referring to the famous six-word story often attributed to Hemingway, 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn', commenting on how, amid all the violence, young innocent lives get caught in the crossfire. 

We Are Obliged, Therefore We Do by Shaik Faizur Rahman

The piece makes a powerful statement, depicting three bags across different canvases. In the bags are bullets, bags of blood, and rifles, with the words, "We are obliged, therefore we do," written on them. On a small tag on the bag, it says, "Creator knows everything." This piece seems to question the sense of powerlessness people claim to feel as they continue to work as cogs that fund wars.

You Heaven Demands Hell by Mong Mong Shay

The painting depicts chaos, censorship, and human suffering–all of which we are all too familiar with today. The eyes in the left canvas refer to the constant surveillance we are under and the censorship it results in. The skull under the pot, fueling the fire, shows how people create sustenance off the suffering of others. The title ties the three canvases together, commenting on how comfort is ultimately derived from suffering.