Tahia Farhin Haque: Art has no words, but it can give one a voice

Tahia Farhin Haque seeks to reveal the dark side of society while trying to give a voice to the underprivileged and marginalised through her art. 

Her mixed media art, Birth of Intelligence, was exhibited at the group show 'Late at Tate', by Tate Britain in London, on 2 September.  

"There was an open call by Tate Collective on the theme 'Cyborg Futures', which explores the relationship between humans and machines, as well as  the contrast between our analogue and digital selves. My artwork was selected along with other artists," said the up-and-coming artist Tahia. 

Artwork: Birth of Intelligence. Copyrights to Tahia Farhin Haque.

'Birth of Intelligence' is a combination of collage and painting. The artwork was inspired by the evolution of life. 

"My work is a depiction of the birth of life, from when life only existed as microorganisms, to  the present, when we are designing artificial intelligence." 

Tahia completed her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from North South University, but her interest in arts can be traced back to her childhood. 

"I feel everyone is born an artist, but as we grow up, somewhere down the line we forget it," said  Tahia. 

Art was how Tahia expressed herself as a child. 

"Art is a language that does not have words, but it has the ability to give someone a voice. I distinctly remember my teacher tearing up a piece of paper that I drew on.  I was perhaps in the first grade. My school did not appreciate art." 

Tahia pursued her passion for art and photography at the age of 18, starting with her cell phone's camera. She later earned a diploma in photography from Counter Foto.

Tahia likes to paint, sketch and create mixed media artworks, but her medium of choice is photography. Her photographs are characterised by silhouettes and veiled figures, and women have repeatedly been her subjects. Tahia's artworks explore the dark side of society that surrounds us, hidden in plain sight.

Tahia's artworks were previously exhibited at Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka Art Summit 2020 and others. She was one of the finalists of the Samdani Art Award. Her photographs were also exhibited at Aperture Gallery in New York, organised by Document and Aperture Foundation in 2018, where she won The New Vanguard Reportage Prize. 

She has also worked with New York Times as a photographer, and contributed to a best seller book 'This is 18', which consisted of stories of 18-year-old girls from all over the world. 

Upon being asked what comes next for her, she said, "Artists are malleable, or we have to be. At least for me I cannot be concrete. The foundation upon which my practice is built has to be malleable. Only the wind knows what is waiting for me in the future."