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Bangladesh at the Venice Biennale 2011
August 2011

The exhibiton Parables represents the first participation of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the International Art Exhibition at la Biennale di Venezia. It takes place in the year of celebration of the 40th anniversary of the country's independence.

Parables is an experimental exhibition project that focuses on the unspoken and implicit power underlying the notion of universal truths through art practice. The word ‘parable’ evokes the origin of the action of drawing comparisons – to juxtapose a familiar concept beside an unfamiliar idea, a process of association that is meaningful in itself and ultimately helps to understand that which is unfamiliar or unknown. Distinct from the conventional and traditional use of parables, which often illustrate a prescriptive subtexts related to a spiritual dimension, a moral attitude or a religious principle, the theme ‘parables’ is used to sketch a scene and set a narrative in order to link and compare different cultural concerns and contexts, a bridge both illuminating and distinguishing two distinct geographical locations.

Five representatives of the Bangladeshi art scene, who live and work in Dhaka, have conceived work that explore a number of contemporary political, ethical and religious themes. Promotesh Das Pulak investigates iconographic interpretations of the 1971 War of Liberation; Begum Lipi creates both a literal and conceptual reflection on feminist discourse within Bangladeshi society; Imran Hossain Piplu's museum of fossilized weapons suggests a human archeology based on the legacy of warfare; Masum Chisty inquires into the mythological notion of identity, while Mahbubur Rahman questions educational conventions within the Muslim community.

Parables is an introduction to Bangladeshi contemporary art practice, which combines established and emerging local artists into an open and diverse international discourse, with the aim of challenging and illuminating cultural settings and perspectives.

Artists:

Kabir Ahmed Masum Chisty
* 1976 Narayanganj, Bangladesh.
more info & photos

Tayeba Begum Lipi
* 1969 Gaibandha, Bangladesh. Lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
more info & photos

Imran Hossain Piplu
* 1972 Dhaka, Bangladesh.
more info & photos

Promotesh Das Pulak
* 1980 Sylhet, Bangladesh.
more info & photos

Mahbubur Rahman
* 1969 Dhaka, Bangladesh; lives there.
more info & photos

Curators:
Mary Angela Schroth
Paolo W. Tamburella

Commissioners:
Tayeba Begum Lipi
Fiona Biggiero

Organization & Production:
Britto Arts Trust, Dhaka
Bengal Foundation, Dhaka
Gervasuti Foundation, Venice-London

Catalogue:
Parables
Pavilion of Bangladesh
Biennale Arte 2011
Published by Bengal Foundation, Dhaka
ISBN: 978-984-33-3495-4

(Summarized from press information.
Quotes from the exhibition catalogue)

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Nafas  |  Exhibitions  |  Bangladesh