The famed artist Dilara Begum Jolly is back with her exhibition 'A/drissho' or 'In/visible' at Kala Kendra. The exhibition is said to be a part of her continued series of 'Deher Akhyan' (Body that speak). Sharmillie Rahman is the curator of the exhibition.
Dilara Begum Jolly's arts are mostly women and girl-centred. If we go through her series of works like 'Parables of the Womb', 'Threads of Testimony', 'Meye chele', 'Magic for Change', 'Dwitio Aboron' and 'Wound' - all these speak for the rights, struggles and empowerment of deprived women of Bengal.
She has some performance arts also - 'Tazreennama', 'Rana Plaza', 'Departed Souls', 'We' etc. 'Jhothorleena' is her greatest work, a documentary about Birangana Rama Chowdhury.
The main subject of her art has always been women -- not only women but also the politics that take place regarding women, religion, patriarchy and all.
She is always vocal about women's rights. The running exhibition is no different. There were around 35 paintings, installations, art performances, and photographs.
Her artworks are named after body parts and have in-depth meanings that can be intimidating in a positive way.
A few names are 'Floatsam: Sanitary napkin, thread, toys and hair clip,' 'Faces: mirror and papier mache,' 'Second skin II: Fabric and wax variable,' 'Fragments of the body: Watercolor on paper,' 'Cornicles of the body: Fabric,' etc.
The paintings seem to have voices. They speak and scream. The unique elements to portray women's wounds and scars give goosebumps to the viewers.
Dilara Begum Jolly acknowledged the debate of women's situation in a male-dominated society. Observing the gender discrimination surrounding her and the inequality in every sector, from home to work to society, she started opposing such activities.
Jolly chose different art forms to protest and screen the discrimination against men and women. She felt the necessity to show the significance of gender inclusion to people so that it could influence them.
The exhibition will have a 'meet the artist' session with artist Dilara Begum Jolly, scheduled tomorrow from 4-6 pm. The session will have Perween Hasan, Vice-Chancellor, Central Women's University, Dr Firdous Azim, Chairperson, Department of English, Brac University and Sazzad Sharif, Executive Editor, Prothom Alo, as guest speakers.
The exhibition started on 6 January and will run till 28 January 2023, every day from 4 pm to 8 pm.
