Presence/Absence
The scope and dimension of reality are boundless. And it is art that dares to capture it all; sometimes even attempts to surpass it. But there are times reality strikes with an event of such force and intensity that man, with all his ability and conscience, is stunned, and consciousness is stilled. It’s almost as if man finds himself in a lifeless, spent form. How can man hope to harness the power of his art in the face of such calamity?
The renowned Bengali author Hasan Azizul Haq once raised the question, “In order to live, we need the basic amenities of life: comfort, communication, and commerce. But beyond that, what else do we need? That, to me is only the beginning. Few of us actually live fulfilled lives. What of literature? Or music? Or painting?” If one were to wonder, why this question; theoretically man is ‘free’ and yet people seemed deprived and starved. There seemed to be no way for art to reach the cognition of Man. As Huq says, “We have diminished man’s potential to the point where nothing remains…people are suppressed and humiliated.”
The Rana Plaza tragedy has brought the crisis of man’s humiliation to the forefront; it is this question that Dilara Begum Jolly seeks to address in her recent artwork. But there is no answer to this oppressive question, nor even any simple explanation. This tragedy of Rana Plaza represents a convergence of sorts, which has brought about a collision between diverse trajectories. The politics of international trade and export, as well as the act of insatiable greed, which is the driving force behind this inhumane enslavement of the garments workers — all these have been exposed with the collapse of the building. The shiny bright bubble like export-business has now definitively burst. However, this was not the first time that workers in this particular industry had been victimized by immoral practices and unethical standards, but the Rana Plaza event was too big to ignore or disregard. After the collapse of the building the reality stared at everyone in the face, and the immorality underpinning it was laid bare for all to see and scrutinize.
Confronted by loss of life on such a scale, everything else become unimportant and insignificant. Again the same question arises: what can the artist do in the face of such a disaster? Begum Jolly went to the site of destruction in person. She felt their cries of despair, listened to their unheard stories, collected posters of the many missing people. The artworks that resulted from this were merely an expression of what she had experienced. But we have to give credit to Jolly for restraining her emotions, which must be overwhelming. She was cautious, as she knew all too well that the force of this human tragedy could overpower her art and defeat her purpose of getting the message across to all. So she followed a different path. It seems as if a very fast-paced scene has been rendered in slow motion, and we get the opportunity to absorb it all, enabling our eyes and mind to focus. Thus the response within us is more cerebral than emotional.
Jolly has worked before on human tragedy in the garments industry. The Tazrin Fashions’ fire had an impact on her that was expressed through her artwork also. One could almost feel the closing in of the walls and the helplessness of the trapped workers. Jolly’s voice was vocal and active. But in her current creations she is more restrained and composed. Now her focus is in the actual human sphere, where one can find everyday belongings of a person. She has recreated simple things like a cushion or a blouse or a bed, chair, or dressing table, and these are the symbols of their owners’ existence. This mirrors the French poet Francis Ponge, whose poems simply seek to recreate the world of experience of everyday objects to depict the sovereignty of presence. Jolly has broken that sphere once again by imposing the images of missing people upon those objects. To make the process simpler she has photocopied the posters, soaked them in water and pressed them, hence depicting a ghostly presence. As if to say that, although they are gone, they are very much present. This conflict between the presence and absence is very compelling, and has given a new dimension to her work.
In many of her works she has used the style of nakshikantha, which again represents the notion of conflict and duality, between the visible outside stitches and the hidden threads at the underside. This style also relates the tragedy of women through a form specific to women, sewing or weaving. Although the Rana Plaza tragedy affected all, it can be seen to have affected women more, as many women lost their lives, or their lives were permanently altered by the loss of limb or life of their husbands and children. It is how Jolly envisages women which is unique in her artwork and her signature style. Often there are representations of the female form in many of her motifs. And women and her forms appear in both Jolly’s drawings and her objects. Although, this time, there seems to be an added dimension and a conflicting depiction, and it seems to be saying that the one who is producing or making is getting destroyed in the process; as if the giver of birth is giving birth to her own death.
One could interpret Dilara Begum Jolly’s artwork as not only depicting the tale of the garments tragedy, but also conveying an element of deep foreboding, about a greater crisis yet to come.