The phrase fata morgana is used to describe a mirage that is seen as a narrow band stretching across the horizon. Its name comes from the Vulgar Latin word for fairy and the sorceress Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend. A fata morgana was once believed to be fairy castles in the air or an illusion created by witchcraft to lure sailors to a false patch of land. Fata Morgana is the title of Rokeya Sultana’s exhibition at the Bengal Art Lounge, where the artist re-creates the mirage world we experience in our everyday lives. Her prints were made by using an advanced printmaking technique called monotype pressure prints, which Rokeya Sultana learnt during her research at the University of Nebraska Lincoln under the Fulbright program. This lengthy process required the artist to make several different layers of impressions one-at-a-time. However, the resulting artwork was a beautiful and multi-faceted expression of the artist’s imagination and creativity. Her unique visual language rendered the world in abstract shapes and colours, giving her audience a glimpse into her minds inner-workings. Fata Morgana is the world its scenery and sensations seen through Rokeya Sultana’s eyes. It is her inner universe, or rather our shared universe as seen by the artist, depicted in art.

Date: 17.05.2013 – 11.06.2013
Venue: Bengal Art Lounge