A solo show of photographic works by one of the most dynamic names from the Bangladeshi art scene opened for public viewing at the Akar Prakar gallery here.
In his debut solo show in India titled "In The Realm of Ambivalence," Manir Mrittik brings an aesthetically moving mix of magical realism and surrealism in over 40 photographic works that are currently showcased.
Tanzim Wahab and Mehbubur Rehman are the curatorial advisors to the show.
"I'm interested in exploring beauty in human life as a part of nature in a dream-like manner. Digital cameras usually capture only the visible light for regular photography and only what the human eye can see. But I want to see more or less through my camera, like one would with ultraviolet, infrared or full spectrum light.
"There is no real line that separates us from nature. We were born from nature, we are a part of nature, and we live in nature. But strangely, we forget that link sometimes. The lines and contours of the body tell a story of their own. Sometimes they are like pieces of an organic puzzle, fitting together perfectly," the 43-year-old Mrittik said.
He added that sometimes they carry "only half a meaning individually," but maintained that the full significance comes into view "when they join their reflections".
"This show is an attempt to bring back focus to the lines. So, the central idea of my work stems from the notion of the relationship between the body and soul, material and immaterial, physical and spiritual thought processes within me," he added.
A set of 10 hand-tinted photographic prints titled "Raptures in Time & Space" seek to express how history touches us as it passes by. But all these glimpses are always two-dimensional.
They come to us as flattened images and compact words; efforts to condense an entire way of life into limited frames. However, artworks can create a certain connection with distant lands and distant times.
"It's certainly transcendent how artwork can unify time and space. These works try to reflect on that a little bit, by unifying locations from the present day and images of the past. Our time here has also been extremely brief; superbly small compared to the history of the universe. The scale of our achievements has been humble, our footprints on time tiny. But even these small dents can make huge differences in the human soul," Mrittik elaborated.
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