De-Mystifying Nabaraj Roy’s Reflection of Endless Mystery

There's something pacifying about walking into an empty art gallery filled with abstract paintings on a Friday afternoon. With no one around, the peace and quiet, which is a hard-earned commodity at Alliance Francaise Dhaka events, blended in perfectly in the small-ish hallroom. 

It had 34 paintings and three sculptures created by Nabaraj Roy.

Not much of an art connoisseur myself, paintings and artworks speak to me very differently. However, speaking with the artist Nabaraj Roy himself, as he walked me through his first solo art exhibition, offered me some much-needed perspective.

"Just as the artwork instigates different thoughts in viewers, it does the same when we, the artists, are working on the artwork itself. It's all subjective. You may view it differently from me. There's no right or wrong," reassured the 34-year-old artist.

For Nabaraj, his inspiration stems from his fascination with cultural heritage and folklore. His paintings are merely an extrapolation of his obsession with local toy dolls and the folk culture.

Photo: Saqlain Rizve

In his paintings, Nabaraj Roy depicts feelings and emotions rather than objects. The more a painting tends to turn its subjects into emotion, the more it moves closer towards abstraction. Through such abstraction, he attempts to communicate his emotions.

In his paintings, there is a reflection of Bangladesh's cultural history that fits with the country's ongoing modernisation. His paintings have also lost their form as a result of his efforts to make sentiments and emotions more expressive and obvious in them. 

Since he was a little child, Nabaraj has been rather close to Bangladesh's profound natural environment. His understanding of feelings has been profoundly enhanced by the wonder and appeal of nature. 

He also developed a passion for Bengali folk art and the underlying elegance of regional dolls and toys. He saw this elegance of modern art on one hand, and the internal strife and protests within this tradition on the other.

Nabaraj Roy's first solo exhibition of abstract artwork, 'The Reflection of Endless Mystery' runs till 12 September at Alliance Francaise Dhaka, Dhanmondi from 3-9 PM, every day except Saturday and Sunday.

TBS PICKS:

Struggle: 2 – Acrylic on Canvas

"A very common scene in the Bangladeshi context. This is a farmer, cultivating his land with a plough attached to the cow. I tried representing it from my perspective. I tried to incorporate rural heritage into this. These green blocks are basically designs you would find on Nakshi Kanthas but the green colour also represents the fertility and the greenery of Bangladesh."

Moonlight Sonata in an urban horizon – Acrylic on Canvas

"The way of growing up as a human being has changed. There was a time when we were closer to nature. But now, with so many man-made things around us, that closeness with nature has been reduced so much. The human element to life has changed and civilisation itself has evolved and changed. I take inspiration from folk art and I use fonts of this art style in my work."

Urban construction: 4 – Acrylic on canvas

"There exists a conflict between the natural forms and urban, man-made constructions. We evolve due to the demands of the present time but in the process, sometimes we forget about the origins. The 'original' constructions can be noticed sporadically within this artwork. There is no specific element present in this artwork but at the same time there also exists a lot of things."