Dyoidho: A duality at the heart of flood-themed Dhaka Art Summit

The 6th Dhaka Art Summit, for the first-time ever, has a Bangla title theme, Bonna. But instead of portraying 'bonna' or flood as a natural calamity only, the organisers are perceiving it in all of its contradictory characteristics.  

And these contradictory characteristics of the flood, as well as Bangladesh as a nation, are quite aptly reflected through the exhibition Dyoidho.

The research-based curatorial project, displaying the artworks of 39 artists, is one of the major attractions of the nine-day long summit. It is located in Gallery 6 of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

The Business Standard reached out to the curator Bishwajit Goswami to learn more about the project, as well as the reason behind such naming.

"Dyoidho literally translates to duality. When it comes to climate change and natural disasters, we indeed see a certain duality. While there is destruction all around, there is also the ray of hope, something constructive for the future," Goswami said.

The best thing about Dyoidho is perhaps the natural ambience curator Goswami tried to bring to life indoors, with the use of straws, sands, coals and other props like cement bags, a boat containing straws etc.

The outcome is remarkable in every way. One gets the impression that they are wandering around the original sites of natural disasters as soon as they go into the gallery on the third floor, with all of their senses activated to perceive everything that is humanly possible.

One of the prominent names that is a part of the project is Abir Abdullah, a renowned photographer. Five of his giant-sized photographs have been showcased in the exhibition, all of which are amongst his climate refugee series.

Captured in October 2022, the photographs document the climate refugees' plight, in an effort to discover the potent source of hope that propels them forward. 

"My series is very well connected with this year's theme of the summit, as well as the project  Dyoidho. The audience can relate to the contradiction, or duality as they say, captured through my lenses," Abdullah told The Business Standard.

A unique photo series titled 'The Fish was kept alive to tell the story' by Ahmed Rasel also caught everyone's attention. Rasel's visual storytelling holds up the constant fear of the devastation brought on by the ever-eroding river.

"As far as climate change is concerned, people mostly deal with statistics and numbers. But my series has been developed from a more personal perspective," said Rasel.

"I tried telling humanitarian stories which would have otherwise been lost in the crowd of digits. But to understand the severity of climate change, people deserve to know these stories," he added.

Meanwhile, young blood Ashrafia Adib undertook a path less traveled, as he came up with a virtual reality piece portraying a fictitious but predictable dystopian water world. This shows how the condition of our only planet can worsen after all the torture endured over the years. Adib's work particularly attracted younger audiences.

"As someone deeply passionate about animation, I like to blend fantasy and futuristic genres in my art. While my art represents the new media, I show gloom and bleak reality. So, my virtual reality kind of gives audiences a reality check besides providing them with the duality," said 23-year-old Adib.

Goswami's curatorial project Dyoidho, which has research support from Muhammad Nafisur Rahman, is co-produced by Brihatta Art Foundation and Samdani Art Foundation.

The project also includes key figures like Hashem Khan, Abul Barq Alvi, Alak Roy, Rafiqun Nabi, Mustafa Monwar, Alakesh Ghosh among others, and will continue to welcome art enthusiasts till 11 February.