‘Parables of the Womb’ explores the place of women during war and reads into the conceptual perplexity of gendered history. In times of war, history shows us hostility on women and an increase in patriarchal authority. Dilara Begum Jolly recalls the specific plight of Bangladeshi women during the troubled times of the Liberation War; expressed through the evocative needle-works on photograph and x-ray, and a psychosomatic video portrayal of Roma Chowdhury, a ‘Birangona’ (war hero). The artist’s testament to gender roles in war culminates a feminist perspective.

Trained as a painter, Jolly is also known to work with various media including performance, video and sound. She has developed a signature practice of needling on paper and, more recently, photographs – a painstaking process during which she draws motifs on paper, or highlights areas on photographs, through needle prickling. Her show ‘Parables of the Womb’ explores themes of gender, trauma and the female body.

The Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy HE Ms Sidsel Bleken will open the show as the chief guest. Architect Marina Tabassum, Director, Academic Program, Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscapes & Settlements, and filmmaker Shameem Akhter will be present on the occasion as special guests.

You are cordially invited.

Inauguration: 6 PM, Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Quamrul Hassan Exhibition Hall, First Floor
Bengal Shilpalay, House 42, Road 27, Sheikh Kamal Sarani
Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209

The exhibition can be viewed from 2 PM to 8 PM until Saturday, 28 March 2020. The facility is closed on Sundays.

Terms and conditions: Entry to exhibition hall is open to all. Anything larger than a small handbag/ purse (max. size 8 in. x 6 in.) will not be allowed inside the venue. Please drop off bags at the counter on the ground floor. You are requested to cooperate with security personnel. Members of the media are requested to keep their IDs handy. Flash photography is prohibited inside the exhibition hall. Bengal Arts Programme +880 1844050577 [email protected]