Fragile Moments: A beacon of hope
Veteran artist Kazi Rakib shares his insight behind the Fragile Moments exhibits
The streets were deserted, save for the sirens of the occasional ambulance or police car. All the shops and malls were closed. Reality resembled a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie, but the horrors were all too real.
The news reported the deaths of thousands every day. Graveyards were overrun with bodies, and so were the morgues. Refrigerator lorries, which were meant to transport food, were storing dead bodies.
There was no curfew in place, but citizens were instructed to remain indoors. Such was the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York.
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Kazi Rakib witnessed these horrors as he looked out into the world from his bedroom window during the lockdown. He wondered: Is this how we end? Could we really survive the pandemic? Were all these people catching the disease due to their own negligence, or were they succumbing to the might of the virus?
Rakib was quickly falling under a spell of depression from the daily exposure of tragedy around him.
"It's easy to fall into a state of depression," said Rakib to The Business Standard. "But it is not that simple to get out of it."
Most of Rakib's family and friends reside in New York. He did not want them to see him broken. In this fragile moment, he looked out of his window yet again. But this time he was greeted by a bird. The bird seemed happy. Rakib offered him some food to eat. It did not seem like he was starving, but he was happy to eat it anyway.
Rakib befriended many birds throughout the pandemic. He thought if the birds found ways to be happy, so could he. And through this interaction, he found hope; the hope he later channelled into what he knew best: his art.
"We received economic relief from the government during the pandemic, so we did not have to worry about food and other necessities. So, I started to look at my time with optimism and I started working on my art," said Rakib. "I don't know if this would be possible if I was staying in Bangladesh at the time."
As he explained, during the lockdowns he could hardly tell if time was moving forward or standing still. Rakib was consumed by his work. He worked on large canvases as well as on small pieces of paper. The media he worked on ranged from simple pen sketches to charcoal, water colour, acrylic and even oil.
Rakib brought back some of these artworks with him when he came back to Bangladesh this year. These works are presently on display at his solo exhibition, Fragile Moments, at Galleri Kaya in Uttara, Dhaka.
Kazi Rakib earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Chittagong, in 1977. But he did not always know that he would one day become an artist.
When Rakib was studying in grade eight or nine, he witnessed the 1969 mass uprising in Bangladesh. He wanted to fight for the rights of the ordinary people by becoming a politician. But his ambitions changed within the coming year. He figured he could help more people by becoming a doctor instead. Rakib studied science during his SSC and HSC examinations and passed with distinction.
During the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, Rakib and his family were forced to move to the village from the city for nine months. At the village, all he had with him was a Pelican water colour box. He spent his days painting, and through these nine months Rakib realised he wanted to become an artist.
"My family needed a lot of convincing when I told them I wanted to study art," said Rakib. "It was because I had the grades. I really could become an engineer or a doctor like they wanted. Maybe if I did not have good grades my family would need less convincing."
Hope was a common theme in the collection of artworks at Fragile Moments. Even when gazing upon a sketch of a seemingly dead tree, the name tag read 'winter', meaning the tree would grow back its lost leaves in spring. Rakib's thematic influences were evidently on display. Forms often took the shape of a bird. Some were detailed charcoal sketches of crows, whereas at other times they were deconstructed, simplified, and shrouded with striking colours.
"Whenever I sit down to work, I often draw and paint birds. I don't know why, but it just happens," said Rakib laughingly.
"Many artists work on thematic projects, I don't do that. I paint or draw whatever comes to me," he added.
Stylistically, Rakib is an impressionist, judging from the exhibits at Fragile Moments. His use of colour felt emotional, with deconstructed semi-abstract forms taking centre stage on his canvas and paper. The artist said that he could only bring his smaller works back to Bangladesh. The 62 exhibits consisted of charcoal, pen and ink, watercolor and acrylic artworks.
Rakib wanted to portray human emotions through his artworks. As he explained, "You don't necessarily have to paint portraits if you want to paint emotions. I sometimes paint landscapes, or even the birds to do just that."
The collection of works included paintings of landscape, birds, portraits, figure studies and a few abstract paintings. Interestingly, despite the fact that he was based in the United States, Rakib's style of works were deeply rooted in Bangladesh's style of painting.
Rakib regularly visited the United States since 2011, but he immigrated to New York in the year of 2015. As he explained, "After moving to New York, my style has changed to some extent. I don't know how visible it may be to a viewer, but I definitely see it."
"However, my heart and basics are rooted in Bangladesh. I listen to Bangla music. I think in Bangla. And naturally, my style is very Bangladeshi," he added.
Fragile Moments was inaugurated by Anisul Hoque – eminent writer and Associate Editor, Prothom Alo – on Friday, 4 March. Sean J. Mclntosh, Public Affairs Counsellor, Embassy of the United States of America, attended the event as a special guest. The exhibition is open to all, every day from 11 AM to 7:30 PM, until 15 March.
TBS Picks
Crow – 2 (pg-29)
I draw and paint a lot of crows. I think they are a very beautiful species of bird. They have subtle iridescent shades of greens and violets. People often look down upon them because of what they eat, but they often fail to realise that they are actually helping us through scavenging for food.
Winter – 2 (pg-21)
Winter is very comfortable in Bangladesh. But it is the complete opposite in New York. It snows everywhere, and movement becomes very difficult. I first visited New York in winter. All the plants and trees seemed dead; they had no leaves. You feel a kind of sadness in the season. I tried to capture that feeling into my artwork.
Woman & Bird (pg-6)
This was my first painting from the pandemic. I don't know why I painted this. All I knew was that I had to paint, I had to do something positive. I started by drawing a woman. Most of my drawings are of women. I was inspired to work by the birds who kept me company during the lockdowns, so I included a bird as well.
Fragile (pg-4)
This abstract painting is actually a painting of my village. New York is a concrete jungle with big bridges, buildings, etc. I often miss living in my village very much. I painted this piece to commemorate my love for my village.
