বৃহত্ত্ব / Immensity

Immensity is an independent and nonprofit art project intended for students in various disciplines of the arts. At its core, Immensity proposes to its participants to examine alternative understandings of their artistic practice. It relies on the belief that students must get the opportunity to reflect on their own individual expression and to develop skills that are in tune with their own understanding of what they wish to express.

The selection of participants to this project was a defining factor. This selection was not only made on the specific skills or academic merit of participants but also on their capacity to be creative and think "out of the box" and across disciplines.

On view in this exhibition is the first interaction of Immensity, which started as an art residency project in December 2017. The residency was deliberately held in a remote rural area in Bandarbans, the Fasiakhali Range of Lama. There, in the middle of green valleys and hills, far from the city they inhabit all year long, participants were invited to connect with the essence of nature and develop new or different aesthetic concepts.

After this residency, participants could further their ideas during a one-month open studio program in the premises of Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts in January, 2018. The open studio was a time dedicated to practice, during which participants transformed their ideas into specific individual works in different disciplines. Finally, preparation for the exhibition also constituted a central phase of the project. The discussion with the curator to develop a visually compelling body of work, the collective development of material for the exhibition publication, and the various post-production activities were an important first for many participants. They plan to take this further during the entire length of the show, during which they will arrange several tours for art school students and talks for the greater community.

Bishwajit Goswami
Curator and Co-founder, Brihatta Art Foundation

বৃহত্ত্ব / Immensity is a journey.

The scope of this experimental student art project is not merely to produce, but document human behavior, in an open space where established conventions are put on pause, so that our curiosities are able to manifest itself against the banal complexities of real life. It is a process of discovery.

Our likes. Our dislikes.
Our dreams. Our fears.
Our heaven. Our hell.

Nusrat Mahmud
Co-founder, Brihatta Art foundation

The Student Art Project "বৃহত্ত্ব/Immensity" was created as a sequel to the resident art camp at Lama, Bandarban.

Bishwajit Goswami, visual artist and faculty member of Fine Arts at Dhaka University conceptualized and curated the entire student art project to encourage the rising talents in Bangladesh to create artworks of greater dimension. The variation of individual artwork was recognized and students from different disciplines were able to develop their skills to a higher level.

While they were on the month-long open studio art practice session at the premises of Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts, the participating students were seen to give their best efforts not only to their individual artworks but also displayed a strong sense of harmony and collaborative bondage with each other. Talent and perseverance of each artist came into clear relief during the workshop.

Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts has been promoting artworks of Bangladeshi artists, particularly the young rising talents. Our commitment for giving support to these artists had inspired us to collaborate with Bishwajit Goswami for holding the art workshop.

On behalf of Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts, I would like to thank all the students who took part in the art project. I would also like to express my appreciation for Bishwajit Goswami for the great idea of the art project as well as for the time and effort he has given for the project. My sincere appreciation also goes to Ms. Nusrat Mahmud of Mahin Group for her contribution to organize the art project.

I wish all success for "বৃহত্ত্ব / Immensity"

Nilu Rowshon Murshed
Chairperson
Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts

The education system of our Fine Arts Faculty has a deep-rooted traditional background. We deliberately tend to keep the old methods alive. “Education system of Fine Arts is going through a radical change across the globe. In comparison, we are quite far from the shift.”

Some of the youngest of our teachers went abroad for studies and are now researching different educational content. Equipped with keen eyes and bold techniques, they are creating a strong impact in the contemporary art scenario. One such distinguished artist is Bishwajit Goswami, the curator of this art project, who also happens to be a lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts.

From what I've seen, this project added a valuable new dimension to our fine arts academia here in Bangladesh.

We, like other art facilities, have several departments. We provide eight majors in our faculty. But such collaboration in a project among students of various departments is missing nowadays. In the past, we used to have a combined foundation programme, which was done by the 1st and 2nd year students.

I noticed a number of interesting things. Participants from outside the Fine Arts Faculty are also here, including ones from photography or engineering backgrounds. Creating diversity with this multi-disciplinary character in an open-minded space like this has been the purpose of this project.

Secondly, when an art camp is held, participants usually visit these arrangements as tourists. They go there, (and perhaps) paint some landscapes, make some sculptures or installations, and that's it. But accomplishment goes further in this art project. We notice the tendency to engage in deeper thought in contemporary art practices. Picking up on the realisations and understanding after visiting a place, enriching these views with different takes along with the environment and the nature, connecting the feelings with the interacting people, exploring all the different layers. The new experiences they will get here will relate to the perception of nature, the place, and understanding each other. They return after staying a few days and get to work immediately; that's not how it works. A more contemplated understanding, planning is needed. One must understand the whole perspective. The art project ran for a month in this manner. Abinta Kabir Foundation provided them with this opportunity.

Our faculty could have been considered for the site, but doing this at the gallery was indeed a blessing in disguise. If they were to work at the campus premises, their structured activities would get in the way. Their habitual routine would've worked against them there.

Rather than hanging out with friends and sharing things with them, they solely focused on the studio work and shared things among themselves. They discussed everything at the gallery without external influence.

I suppose the traffic jam of Dhaka worked in their favour. Returning from a place is also very tough, not easy at all. But when they went there, they made total use of their time. I was very impressed.

The process of their work is very innovative, creating the layout, gradually moving forward through the process. Bishwajit worked with them as well. It must have been a great opportunity to watch his work more closely, along with the other processes of the students from other disciplines, especially for a graduate pupil watching the work of a master's student.

Our previous education system used to take 4-5 years for a first-year student to reach a mature level. But at present, talent is so important, the significance of innovative ideas or concepts is often the case that a second-year grad student can express himself better than a senior, to think and observe more maturely.

This is why “I liked the selection process very much. When I saw everyone's work, they were so mature. They did it very successfully. I think Bishwajit could share this project's experience with the young teachers as well, which can make a big change in the academic system.”

We have students who are lost, who don't know what to do. The support they are supposed to get, they don't find it here. We do not have this subject in our course curriculum. The students here have the quality. But they do not know how to arrange all this. They have no idea what they will do after their graduation. They don't know how to build themselves, how to organise an exhibition, or how to express themselves properly. They have the quality, but they do not even know that they are capable of doing these. They cannot identify themselves. They don't go through the proper practice here.

So I am really amazed by this art project. I think the people who fostered this project should inspire more people to do the same. They should also realize that this is the right way. I think this is a way that the Bangladeshi art scenario can improve in the coming days.

Nisar Hossain
Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts
University of Dhaka

Talk about the "Immensity" project with Bishwajit Goswami, its initiator and curator, and a mischievous smile is likely to light up his face. "The project is a bit different from what we usually do at the Faculty", says the Professor. "It encourages artists to dig into themselves to find their own voice. They have to be active in this process, and cannot just rely on following a curriculum".

The claim to put young artists at the center of their creative process may seem trite, but the project initiates a welcome opening in the local academic system, often based on authority and repetition. It allows participating students to elaborate on what they are normally told to do, and to experiment with or indeed deconstruct their learned baggage. In that sense, "Immensity" does not counter academia, but rather complements it.

Another important feature of the project is its multidisciplinarity. Students training as print-makers and painters, aspiring sculptors and poets gathered together during a residency in a remote area of the Bandarbans. Participants spent their days practicing there, while they could elaborate on their endeavour during group discussions in the evening. Goswami screened documentaries about internationally acclaimed artists to further expose them to different approaches and thinking. Participating artists, therefore, agreed to be exposed to the scrutiny of their pairs in this discursive approach; it compelled them into structuring their own thinking and finding strength in the collective examination of their works. The method encourages students to think by themselves and voice their own opinions, things they rarely do elsewhere.

A close observer of the Bangladeshi art scene, I am always struck by the strength of its collective spirit. Perhaps more than elsewhere, artists here have a tendency to organise themselves in all sorts of groups, collectives, and movements. Together, they innovate, try out different approaches from what they were taught, and overcome the many challenges they face in their practice. In encouraging artists to reach out to their inner creativity, in forcing them to expose themselves to the group, Goswami has found a resonance with that spirit in "Immensity".

Hadrien Diez
Freelance Cultural Journalist