Shawdesh Desk:

The Goethe-Institut Bangladesh and the Drik Picture Library have jointly organised a group exhibition titled Let No One Mistake Us for the Fruit of Violence exploring ‘man’, ‘male’ and ‘masculine’ at the Drik Gallery, at DrikPath Bhobon, Panthapath in the capital.

The exhibition, which began on August 19, has been organised as part of an on-going South-Asian regional project on the theme of masculinities titled M3: Man, Male and Masculine. It aims at discussing present visions of masculinity with children and young adults of both genders in India and Bangladesh.

Let no One Mistake Us for the Fruit of Violence is featuring Ashfika Rahman’s work titled Redeem, Tsohil Bhatia’s My Home (A Celebration of Five Days), Renuka Rajiv’s Famjam Excerpt, Sandeep Kuriakose’s Letters To My Father, Anurag Minus Verma’s Dalit Masculinities and Javed Sultan’s Kinship.

A total of 22 photographs give the audience a glimpse into Tsohil Bhatia’s work. A wall separates the audience and Tsohil, who refrains from speaking, wearing cloths and salt for a duration of 120 hours. The project attempts to shed light on state-sponsored patriotism.

Ashfika Rahman’s work Redeem, comprising 12 portrait photographs in small boxes, depicts the Dalit and Santal community people. The photographs contain embroidery in collaboration with Seema Tiki, Pallab Ekka, Julee Toppo and Poly Neera.

Renuka Rajiv’s work Famjam Excerpt features 12 artworks. The drawings show the artist’s family members sharing everyday moments, including resting, having conversations, sharing meals and spending holidays. Renuka Rajiv shared that the artworks are both observations as well as orchestrations.

The exhibition has been curated by Vidisha Fadescha, the founder of the Party Office, which is an anti-caste, anti-racist, trans-feminist art and social space located in New Delhi, India.

The organisers are also hosting different programmes, including both online and offline panel discussions, a kids’ workshop and film screening sessions.

Films, namely The Last Post Office and Cat Sticks will be screened on August 26 at the venue from 11:00am to 1:00pm.

Earlier, the exhibition was held in Kolkata, India.

The exhibition will end on August 30.