Solastalgia: A dying planet through a rose-tinted lense

Walking into Platforms Gallery, the first thing you are met with is the colour pink. An unnaturally neon pink surrounds the entire room, from paintings and even the walls. At first glance, I looked around the space and thought, 'Ah, what pretty pink paintings'. Then when I took a good look at it, the horror sunk in. 

Artist Auntora Mehrukh Azad's solo exhibition, 'Solastalgia: Fragments of a Fading Horizon', explores the concept of urbanisation and human-induced climate change, and how the two forces should have never collided. The solo exhibition is on display at Platforms Gallery from 19 October to 16 November, open daily from 11 AM to 8 PM.

The unfortunate partnership between urbanisation and human-induced climate change has caused a growing rift between humanity and nature. Auntora, with this as her central theme, uses vibrant colours to depict the unfolding tragedy in her paintings.

"I don't expect people to suddenly become highly conscious when they view art," Auntora shared. 

"But my central theme is urbanisation. The planning around waterlogging is poorly managed, and we've normalised it. Flooding shouldn't be the inevitable outcome every time it rains."

Her work serves as a reminder of how, since childhood, we've been told that Bangladesh will soon sink. While the country is naturally prone to floods, her paintings highlight the human-induced disasters caused by poor urbanisation.

"People question why my landscapes are pink, but it shows that the floods are not natural or normal, we cause it. The neon pink in these paintings shows how the floods stem from unnatural causes," stated the artist.

Two paintings, 'Elephant in the Room' I and II, depict surreal portals to alternate realities. In the first, a cat sleeps peacefully while a man and his cow stand stranded in floodwater, appearing lost. 

The second canvas shows a woman struggling to make ends meet, framed by a houseplant and a neatly placed chair. Through these works, Auntora suggests how on social media, we often post, like, and share images of floods but take little meaningful action, carrying on with our lives while others continue to suffer.

She frequently uses pink and green in her work, with recurring traffic light motifs transformed into trees. She explains that neon pink mirrors the toxicity of plastic and unnatural water, while the red in two pieces represents blood.

People question why my landscapes are pink, but it shows that the floods are not natural or normal, we cause it. The neon pink in these paintings shows how they stem from unnatural causes

As for the traffic lights, she shares, "I often go outside the city to paint, and once I saw villagers using a traffic light as a clothesline, with a rope stretched across it. It amused me, but ultimately, it symbolises the invasion of urbanisation on our land."

TBS Picks 

Portal
Medium: Acrylic on canvas

The piece, 'Portal' shares a glimpse of how urbanisation has been taking over rural areas. The aim of the piece is to show how the traditions of village life are slowly fading away due to the rise of capitalism. 

Archipelago 2024
Medium: Acrylic on canvas

This wall comes together as one piece. The seven paintings represent the seven continents on Earth, showcasing how climate change has caused natural disasters throughout the world in the last few years.

A view from my window
Medium: Acrylic on canvas

This piece presents a view from the window of the artist's house, particularly during the time of Eid Ul Adha. She sees people ignoring the bloody streets during that time, going on with their lives.