PHOTOSEUM

Painter Shahabuddin is "as simple, noble, and vast as the sky"—to borrow the words of Jibanananda Das (Bela Obela Kalbela). He is a sun-drenched bird of our troubled times, a man of the skies. Illuminated by the light of his inner vision and singular individuality, he has kindled one blood-lit gallery of paintings after another—works that excavate the deepest chambers of the human heart.

This golden-hearted artist, emerging from the very soul of Bangladesh, is one of the great marvels of the Indian subcontinent. His brushstrokes transcend the physical limits of the canvas, expanding into a larger spatial universe that seems to dissolve into infinity itself. There is in them an unbearable yearning for freedom, an insatiable thirst for fire. Whenever I stand before his paintings, I recall the haunting lines of Arun Mitra:

"Who speaks to me of comfort? My days and nights are clawed by the tiger's nails."

The dynamic expression of powerful human figures constitutes the central theme of Shahabuddin's art. To the artist, the pristine white surface of the canvas is akin to a battlefield. Within the heat of creation, his fiery spirit gives form to the courageous expressions of men engaged in struggle. The steadfast resolve of the heroic warrior—whose only alternatives are victory or death—has been rendered in countless variations by this artist who himself fought in Bangladesh's Liberation War.

The Liberation War of 1971 transformed Shahabuddin into a new human being. It bestowed upon him a profound sense of renaissance, a rebirth of both life and consciousness. No other artist in Bangladesh has been able to portray, with such intensity, these indomitable figures whose passionate desire is to remain unconquered. Within the mind of this warrior-artist, the Liberation War of 1971 continues to unfold ceaselessly. In the collective uprising of a people yearning for freedom, he witnessed the epic grandeur of heroism on a monumental historical stage.

Bangladesh achieved its independence at the cost of innumerable lives, and every village in the country bears the memory of those who fought for freedom. Forgetting this truth, Shahabuddin cannot imagine devoting his artistic practice to subjects detached from that sacrifice. Through each painting he reaffirms his convictions and his lifelong commitment; in his art, the spirit of the Liberation War is continually renewed.