Through my journey as an artist, I acquired a special perspective while creating, analyzing and displaying art. As I travelled through different parts of the world, I felt that the concept of visual arts were “saudading.” By saudade I mean both the Portuguese literal meaning of longing and also the literary, theoretical meaning of overlapping. On one hand, I felt nostalgic about my own culture and its art; and at the same time, as my journey, experience and learning grew deeper, I realized that most of these concepts overlap one another as it moves from one geographical location or culture to the other. It is all very different and at the same time still familiar, as if the etymological root came from a unanimous ancient heartbeat. A culture or art cannot be static or absolute. It molds and changes as it is constantly exposed to globalization. Visual art is a continuous process. If we look at the kind of art that is produced in Dhaka now, it will look similar to art being produced in the West but will still have a deeprooted nostalgia with the art that was being produced in this same geographical location 50-100 years ago as well. This is what I mean when I think or contemplate on visual art— it saudades. In the list of all the special and unique experiences I have had the privilege of acquiring, there is a rare balance between hands-on- participation, managerial involvement as well as directorial leadership.
In USA : Art Handler, San Diego Museum of Photographic Arts, SDMOPA; Art Handler of artists Manny Farber and Patricia Patterson; member of Triple Crown Artists group, San Diego; Art Installer at Gallery Quaint, La Jolla, CA; worked for LUX Art institute, Encinitas, as a contractor of Peter Phillips Fine Arts; represented by Gallery 99, San Diego, CA; staff photographer for the Daily Paesano, San Antonio, Texas.
In Bangladesh : Founded Design Café, a visual communications agency; worked as a freelance consultant for TVCs, A/Vs, documentary and feature films; worked for Ogilvy & Mather, Dhaka; organized Conqueror Corporate Identity Design Contest 2010, Paper Studio and artist Hiromi Inayoshi; photographed for the New Internationalist Magazine; strategized and helped plan, “Khachar Bhitor Ochin Rishi”, by Di+ Artist Laura Morelli, photographer Giovanni Diffidenti and the Rishi community of Bangladesh; published photo-book “Preparing for Climatic Extremes” by IUCN, Dhaka. Founded and curates “Longitude Latitude” shows. Director, Dhaka Art Center.
Recent work: Photography exhibition, Bhutan: Rippling through the effects of Mysticism, Café Mango, Dhaka; Series exhibited at Venice Biennale through Samdani Art Book 1.