‘Artists must be simple’
Originally slated for last year, Rokeya Sultana’s Delhi retrospective was postponed after communal violence broke out in Bangladesh during Durga Puja. On display at the Lalit Kala Akademi until June 26, Sultana puts on display 111 works of the Bangladeshi artist, including pieces from her best-known figural series ‘Madonna’ and ‘Relations’, her abstract interpretations of Bangladeshi landscape, and the print series ‘Fata Morgana’. The show travels to Kolkata in July.
Q. What were your thoughts when you heard that your retrospective had been postponed at the last minute in 2021?
It came as a shock. After all the hard work, it was a shattering experience. But I was hopeful that everything would be fine. Finally, I showcased my works in India with the help of the Bengal Foundation and ICCR.
Q. What does it mean to you to have your show in India when Bangladesh is celebrating its 50 (now 51) years of liberation?
Our liberation was our birth as a nation. So, when the programme was decided, I was very excited. In India, I learned under some masters, [all of] whom played a big role in my art learning.
Q. It so happens that while your retrospective is on in Delhi, there’s a Somnath Hore exhibition on display in the city. How does it feel to be showing alongside your mentor?
Somnath Hore, as we know, is one of India’s great artists and him being my mentor delights me. I spent a lot of time with this great man in Santiniketan and learned a whole lot—painting, drawing, printmaking .... Now that there is an exhibition of his in Delhi, it is all the more exciting. It seems like performing with your mentor on the same stage.
Q. Freedom of artistic expression has been under threat in South Asia. How do you, as an artist, keep the hope alive? It’s not only freedom of artistic expression, the benign expressions are under threat. Too many ideas are crippling the human mind, including those of artists. Artists have to be simple, have their focus on a single project. I would like to keep everything on that level and exhibit my works on a regular basis.
Q. Through your work, you have been preoccupied with the rights of women. How possible is it to achieve an equitable world? In a difficult world of men, we are expressing ourselves in so many ways for our rights. Through my work, I have been trying to express the same. I feel that we will have to go on expressing ourselves in all the ways we can. And maybe, one day, we will achieve an equitable world. ■