‘Echoes of Existence’: Ripon Saha’s intriguing world of art
Unfolding at Kala Kendra, the "Echoes of Existence" exhibition stands as a reflection of the invisible forces that regulate our lives and whose impact we can feel on a daily basis.
"Echoes of Existence", the exhibition by artist and YouTuber Ripon Saha, was inaugurated last Saturday (October 27). Prominent artist and cartoonist Shishir Bhattacharya attended the opening ceremony as the guest. Curated by veteran artist Wakilur Rahman, this exhibition is the third solo of the artist.
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Ripon primarily focuses on surrealism, and pop art, and uses modern techniques. For this exhibition, he has chosen a wide array of drawings and paintings, adorning the walls of Kala Kendra with different narratives. According to the curator, the artist dives deep into social, cultural, political, physical, and mental aspects of humans, embeds them in his soul, and expresses them through his symbolic artworks.
The artist explained that this collection celebrates modern art's edge, is influenced by pop art's boldness, and surrealism's dreamlike narratives, also while keeping things minimal and meaningful. He added that each artwork tells its own story, balancing familiar imagery with surprising twists, encouraging a person to question, imagine, and see from fresh perspectives.
The artist mentioned that he has been heavily influenced by European painters Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Pakistani journalist Hassan Nisar.
Upon entering the gallery, the first drawing that intrigued me was that of a circle of infants with elongated heads. The artist through this drawing showed the immature extremism of people who blindly follow ideals without even questioning anything. In the painting where an artist is painting a goat for a lion, Ripon spoke about the limitations of real-life artists caused by the goal to please art dealers. There are also some artworks that he simply created after witnessing or experiencing certain events. Thus, his artistic journey is like a memoir.
Humans, no matter how active and thriving, are slaves to time. Our whole life is a race and everyone has a limited amount of time which we cannot exceed. This harsh truth is vividly represented via a surrealistic painting where Ripon has used a generous amount of metallic gold paint as if to remind us of our physical constraint, and the fact that every moment of our life is precious. One of Ripon's paintings features an injured hand with another hand that put a band-aid on a paper-boat which symbolises the grief of the first hand. This is one of the most sensitive pieces done by him.
A nameless hotel in Chittagong was a breathing space for rising artists, actors, dancers, and singers where they would practice their art. It was also a place rented by the lower middle-class population. As this hotel was a place for the free-spirited beings in a conservative country, Ripon and his friends nicknamed it Hotel Paris. He illustrated various stories from the hotel on black canvases, and created a series titled "Hotel Paris".
Ripon Saha's artworks are bold, expressive, thought-provoking, and capable of being interpreted in several ways, proving his multidimensional thought process. They are great examples of surrealism, modernism, and pop art.
The artist is based in Chittagong. He completed his MFA from the Department of Drawing and Painting, Institute of Fine Arts, University of Chittagong. After his SSC, his father brought him a book by Sunil Gangopadhyay, titled "Chobir Deshe, Kobitar Deshe", which inspired him to become a visual artist.
"Echoes of Existence" is open to all till November 11 at Kala Kendra.
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