Tamera Khan: Voicing with the paintbrush

With a grandfather who collected art out of passion and a graphic designer father, Tamera Khan, 26, never ran out of motivation to become an artist in life. Arts were her childhood reprieve and safe space. Tamera knew from an early age that art was her calling.

Her parents would even let her buy art supplies over toys as a child. But ensuring Tamera's smooth sailing into the world of art took some effort. When she came of age, she knew that she wanted to study art. A child with an artistic streak was fine by her parents, but they had their reservations about their daughter becoming an artist by profession.

That was only her first obstacle. The second was perhaps more intense. Being raised in Saudi Arabia, there were thousands of miles between her dream of studying in Charukala, University of Dhaka. Out of that urge and to follow her dreams, she gathered the courage to come to Bangladesh, attend admission coachings and sit for the admission exam. Only after succeeding in this journey did her parents give in to her indomitable passion for art and Tamera moved to Bangladesh for good.

Tamera's first solo exhibition titled 'Silent Suffering' is going on at Edward M Kennedy (EMK) Centre, Dhanmondi. Photorealistic paintings within fantastical backgrounds of modest sizes of 1' by 1' to all the way up to life-sized 4' by 5', adorn the exhibition. The exhibition will run till 12 August.

When one sees the abundance of green in her photorealistic paintings, they might wonder how she saw so much green in a desert, where she spent the best part of her life. Luckily for her, she took residence in Jahangirnagar University (JU) when she moved. 

"I lived among nature in JU. You could not see as many birds in one lifetime that I've seen there in a short while," Tamera said, explaining why nature is the prevailing subject of her fairly new body of work. 

There are 26 paintings across three beautifully named series – 'Requiem for LIfe', 'Mechanocalypse' and 'Unliving' and of course solos titled 'In Crisis of Time', 'Save Yourself', 'Trapped in a Plastic Sea', etc. My personal favourite solos were 'I'm trapped inside me' and 'The Spring-time  of Life'. The exhibition was curated by Syed Mohammad Tahsin.

Birds are a repetitive motif of her paintings. In fact, her series 'Requiem for Life' is entirely dedicated to birds and how our activities are choking their lives. "Seeing Mike Beeman's paintings of birds in soft pastel has inspired me to base a lot of my work on birds, among other animals," she said. 

Tamera also gave due credit to eminent Bangladeshi artist Shishir Bhattacharjee, her professor at Charukala. "We see birds consuming plastic commonly and they're photographed. Paint something that the camera can't capture and show that in an artistic way," Tamera quoted professor Bhattacharjee. The 'Mechanocalypse' series was motivated by what he said.

Pollution, contamination and the abuse of nature became the subject matter of many of her paintings because they tortured her soul. Not only did she see any form of pollution growing up in Saudi Arabia, living in the serene setting of JU, she was surrounded by pristine nature. It was during her commute between JU and Charukala that she saw the transition between lush green to unfathomable pollution in Dhaka. Thus, art became her voice against these. 

"While passing through Gabtoli I saw a waste depot, with people living right next to it and then there was a brick kiln there as well, etc. I showcased these experiences in my artwork," she said about her paintings that are a seamless blend of photorealism and abstractism. 

"Photography may've taken the place of the hyper-realistic style of painting but I still feel comfortable doing photorealistic artwork as I think this is also a skill that shows an artist's prowess and grasp over what they see, and what they can portray through art," Tamera expressed strongly.

TBS PICKS

'Save Yourself!' | Acrylic on Canvas

I love this painting very much. It portrays Bangladesh's environmental pollution, showcasing rust, air and water pollution, dead fish, and blooming flowers amidst indifference, symbolising the decay of nature preservation efforts.

Mechanocalypse, series-1 | Acrylic & pen on canvas

The painting contemplates insects within a hexagon, symbolising their harmony with nature. Beyond it, they turn mechanical, illustrating nature's efficiency and the disorder outside its bounds.

Requiem for Life, series-2 | Acrylic & pen on canvas

The Kingfisher is my favourite bird. Here, the kingfisher's plight due to habitat loss and pollution is portrayed with a gas mask. The series captures animals' despair, as essentials are stripped away, highlighting their helplessness.