FIROZ MAHMUD

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Firoz Mahmud Bangladeshi artist Firoz Mahmud works with several media including installation, Layapa Art (a Bangladeshi stencil technique), Urgency of Proximate Drawing (NinKI: UoPD), text, video and photographs which are based on Bangladeshi socio-political culture, myth, tradition and pop culture. In his debut two-person exhibition ‘Ninki: History runs over the Yamuna’, works include mixed media work on paper from the series ‘Drawings from the past’, wood carvings from the ‘Drawing History’ series and the artist’s more popular series from Urgency of Proximate Drawing(Ninki:Pop).

In Mahmud’s work there is a deliberate interplay of both the larger responsibility of the artist as a key player within the politics of a nation in flux, as well as bringing to the forefront a very personal individualistic framework placed within the spectrum of ‘learned humor.’

The way in which one might experience this can vary based on how you approach Mahmuds practice. We live in a time where we see the emergence of artworks where life-experiences are being translated into a language of social and political concern. In Mahmuds work however, there is no urgent need to differentiate between an art conceived as plain propaganda and an art that avoids any such instrumentalization. And in it lies its success. In order to begin understanding the works in the current exhibition an interesting place to start would be Mahmud's large-scale project 'sucker'wfp21, a 26 foot fighter aircraft considers the interplay of militarism and war produced through public tax and revenue. The work involved the use of pasting the ‘Deshi’ bean to the surface of the craft, which formed a kind of interactive ritual, whereby volunteers helped fix these beans onto the aircraft, over the course of 12 months. The craft in itself, resembled something that was less intimidating because of the material and the process – almost as if offering a space of meditation to think through these socio-political inequalities for all involved.

There is a mix of both the intangible narrative of history and contemporary issues with the tangible materiality of traditional techniques, materials and even the color ‘green’ to construct a lexicon for what could be called the ‘aesthetics of the political.’ As Mahmud explains, “I think both strategies of art-making and technical aspect are important for making art. I believe that technique and skill are necessary for creation. Primarily personal touches and intellectual nuances should be relevant to create work and it is dependent on content that influences the work.” Mahmud therefore builds through a deliberate process of de-construction and re-construction.

In The Urgency of Proximate Drawing (Nink i :UoPD) Art Pro jec t , Firoz Mahmud focuses on celebrities in excited, playful, sporty and happy moments. He draws remarkable lines where they are about to fall or feel hard to gesture in the photographs. Their idolized appearances are highlighted by protective line drawings that display an awareness of the performative ethos of iconic expression. The lines underneath the falling position imply the stardoms can't fall down from the gestures and positions that they are held in. He’s literally creating building blocks of the imperceptible kind. In a way Mahmud is thinking through both, the architecture of the Body as well as the architecture of the Self in relation to constructed spaces. Architecture, at a fundamental level, creates a space for formulating meaning for what is otherwise just ‘empty’ or ‘nothing’. The literal act of making 4 walls, encloses this nothingness and in it we create ‘meaning’. These spaces that were otherwise voids become familiar to our own physicality – the intimacy of a bedroom, the solitude of a study or the communal vibe of a landscaped backyard – hold value and give our otherwise wandering souls a sense of belonging. It also reinforces the relationship between one human body and another. Within these constructed spaces, the relationships between one person and another is constantly defined and re-defined and most importantly, remembered by the trace of memories in the making or by nostalgia.

In Mahmud’s hands these spaces and relationships offer a further narrative that is post-sentimentality. In two visually distinct languages, he is creating an index for the ‘Architecture of the Invisible’. There is a sense of an unending cycle – the invisible that was made visible is being made invisible again. What we ‘see’ in Mahmud’s Ninkipop images is essentially the unseen. He is constructing a trace, a memory through the absurdity of the physical movement, all of which is essentially nothing but the Void. Mahmud gives us a visual iconography rooted in humor and satire.

Moving slightly away from these in terms of the visual aesthetic, is the series of wood print works that Mahmud has been focusing his practice on. While immediate relationships cannot be conjured up, the process, the materiality of wood and ink and the narratives employed tie the series Wood Curving (drawing Bengal history series) to the other series Mahmud has produced in this exhibition. Together with the mixed media drawing ‘Distance of the Past’, this seemingly disparate use of forms and materials is perhaps the most interesting aspect of Mahmud’s practice. What it does is relate his practice to the histories of deeply political artists like Ana Mendieta, for instance, where remaining less ‘repetitive’ or ‘similar’ or adhering too strictly to a ‘series’ allows for a certain autonomy of practice that is not easily co-opted into dominant narratives of art history. For artists such as Mahmud, being geographically situated within a very complex network of social, cultural and political networks – ones that are in a state of flux that is so tenacious and ever-changing - it becomes imperative to not be part of any one particular History. Here the artist is a ‘producer’ of many Histories and not just someone speaking to, or reflecting the same. As Mahmud articulates, “Art is a media to explore, to traverse with mind and material and compassion for everyday life. Aside from these, I make work that involves a time frame for longer sessions to make large scale installations and sculpture which involves society, locals and ardent supporters.” Text by Meenakshi Thirukode

FIROZ MAHMUD B: 1974 Khulana, lives and works in Dhaka EDUCATION: 2011: PhD on Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku), Tokyo 2007: Masters of Fine Arts, Tama Art University, Tokyo 2005: Researcher, Tama Art University, Tokyo 2003: Artist-in-Research, Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, Netherlands 2002: MFA, Dhaka University, Institute of Fine Arts, Bangladesh 1997: BFA, Painting, Dhaka University, Institute of Fine Arts, Bangladesh SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 2015 ‘ NinKi : History runs over Yamuna’, Exhibit 320, New Delhi Ota Fine Arts, Singapore Taymour Grahne Gallery,Occidental Mistery, New York 2013 Soaked Dream, Goethe Institute Dhaka, Dhaka `NinKi: UoPD-“Loss of the Toss is Blessing of their Disguise”, Dhaka Art Center, Dhaka 2011 `Dismal Cry of Heritage`, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Dhaka `Traitor of Faith`, International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York Lamentation in Two Lies`, Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo 2010 `Yatta! Anzen! B.A.D. Museum of Contemporary Art Yuga Gallery, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo `Sucker`wfp21`[opened studio], Chinritsukan, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo `Whatever they are Scolded Your Star is Safe`, Asbestos Art Space and city billboards, Bandung, Indonesia 2009 Belief = Be live`, OZU Sapce, Umane, Italy

2007 ‘Flying Pixels from flying man’, BV & STVCV project, Khulna Vision TV & Dhaka intercity Bus service, Bangladesh 2006 Dis-tinc-tion’, Plaza Gallery, Tokyo GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2015 “How ancient miniatures have been a source of inspiration on contemporary artists today”, Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York “Institute of Contemporary Art Singapore”, Contemporary Art of Bangladesh, Curated by June Yap, Singapore “Trinity”, Bengal Gallery, Dhaka, Trinity 2014 Fine Art Institute, Dhaka “Vivid Strata 2: New representation from Asia”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore 2013 “Erasing Borders”- Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora 2013, Hammond Museum, New York-, “Setouchi Art Triennale” [Int`l Art Festival-Bangladesh Project], Kagawa, Japan “Vivid Strata 1: New representation from Asia”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore “Erasing Borders”- Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora, Queens Museum of Arts, New York Brotkatze Collaborations exhibition at gallery Kunststueck, Berlin “National Art Exhibition”, Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka “Erasing Borders”- Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora, Flushing Town Hall, New York 2012 “Shifting Risks-(`Senses 7` exhibition)”, Dhaka Art Center , Dhaka “KIZUNA”, Bangladesh National Museum, Dhaka 2011 12 artists from Bangladesh `40 years of Independence`, City Center, Agartala, India “Step Across This Line`-Contemporary art from Bangladesh”, Curated by Deeksha Nath, India & Pakistan, Asia House, Elmar Hermann and Firoz Mahmud, ISCP, New York Summerlight VII, Westbeth Gallery, New York “Open Studios” at International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP ), New York New Address, New Works, Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo

2010 Hakase-Tenrankai [PhD final show], The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo “Screening”, Curated by Yuko Hasegawa, Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto “Transformation”, Project Space 1, Geijutsu Daigaku & Museum of Contemporary Art MOT Tokyo , Japan “1st Aichi Triennial”, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan (Curator:Akira Tatehata) “I want you!”, Mori Art Museum`s Center Gallery, Tokyo “Short listed”, Art project 2009mini`, Jiro Yoshihara Memorial project, Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Osaka, Japan 2009 “Art project Ideas”, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima “4th Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial” (Dynamo Art Project), Nigata, Japan “Personally political - contemporary sensation”, Curated by Barbara Fragogna, Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin “Provision for the Future” -9th Sharjah Art Biennial, Curated by Esabel Carlos /Jack Persekian, Sharjah Art Museum, UAE 2008 “11th Cairo Art Biennial”, `the Other`, Curated by Ehab Ellaban, Arts Palace, Cairo, Egypt “Asian Biennial Bangladesh”, National Art Gallery, (Anomalies project with Sawa Hiraki, Hiroharu Mori & Ozawa Tsuyoshi) `When Switch off Mobile…talk Eloquently’ Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo (Curator: Ozawa Tsuyoshi/Tsuruta Yoriko) Sovereign Asian Art Prize, The Landmark Atrium, Hong Kong ART FAIR PRESENTATIONS: 2014 “Dhaka Art Summit”, Ota Fine Arts, Dhaka 2011 “VIP International Contemporary Art Fair”, online Fair, represented by Ota Fine Arts from Tokyo 2012 “Dhaka Art Summit” by Samdani Art Foundation at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka 2008 ShContemporary08, Shanghai Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China

RESIDENCIES AND AWARDS: 2011 International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP ), New York Asian Cultural Council (ACC) Fellowship, New York 2010 Curatorial workshop under Vasif Kortun at ICA- Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo 2007 Research project Grant from Arts Networks Asia (ANA), Singapore Kaiseikai Foundation Grants, Tokyo & Asia Open Art Forum, Tokyo Asian art Prize, nominated for Sovereign Art Foundation, Hong Kong 2009 Artist Residency at OZU Culture Center, Rieti/Rome, Italy Artist in Residency, Halcyon Tarp Project, Sharjah Art Museum, UAE 2003-4 Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, Netherlands 2003 Fellowship, Rijksakademie VBK, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands Travel grants to Europe by Stitching Trust Fond, Netherlands CURATORIAL PROJECTS: 2012 `Shifting Risks` video works under Seven Senses exhibition, Dhaka Art Center, Dhaka 2013 Shumon Ahmed, photography installation, ULAB Gallery, Dhaka 2008 `Anomalies` Project, Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh, Dhaka (Ozawa Tsuyoshi, Hiroharu Mori

2007 Kozima Art Project, Kozima Art Plaza, Tokyo BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PRESS: 2012 Ashley Rawlings, Art Asia Pacific, Almanac 2012, Japan,p-137 & Shawon Akand, Bangladesh p-104, Hong Kong/New York, Naeem Mohaiemen `Firoz wants to fight Tyson`, Depart Quarterly English Art magazine, Jan, 2012, Dhaka 2011 Dhaka Mirror, Art & Culture, `Battle of Pallesy in Painting`, 15.11.2011, Dhaka The Independent,UK, `Art-Step Across this Line`-Contemporary Art from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, 13 Oct, 2011, London Art Collector, `Lamentation of Firoz Mahmud`, Eiichi Hosokawa, Release No. 2011/06/25, No-28, Tokyo, Japan Art Asia Pacific, Bookmark Firoz Mahmud , 21 June, New York Tokyo Art Beat, Sorrowful Cries of Heritage, on `Lamentation in Two Lies`, Chisako Izuhara, 2011-5-29, Tokyo `Firoz Mamud`s Lamentation in Two Lies` Art-iT (Japanese-English Art Magazine), May, 2011, Tokyo 2010 La maja descalza, `El arte y las ciudades es el tema de la Trienal de Aichi 2010` publicado en: arte, 21.08.2010, Spain Flush Art, Aichi Triennale, Arts and Cities, Summer Edition ART iT, July 7,2008 `Exhibition review-When you switch off the mobile, painting start to talk eloquently`, Tokyo, Japan/ Arjan Reinders, “Veel behaaglijk werk op de Rijksakademie”, Het parool, Nov. 30, 2003, Amsterdam, P-8

NINKI : HISTORY RUNS OVER YAMUNA’, EXHIBIT 320, NEW DELHI 2015

“Firoz Mahmud [explores] social and emotive issues in… works such as his 2009 Ninki : UoPD drawings, frst shown at the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). (The Japanese word ‘ninki’ means popular.) The series includes photo portraits of controversial celebrities drawn with geometric patterns that appear like protective hex symbols. Firoz explains that however tainted, icons such as Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson and even sumo champion Asashoryu can remain invincible in their popularity, protected by an uncanny force.” Lucy Birmingham

`NINKI: UOPD-“LOSS OF THE TOSS IS BLESSING OF THEIR DISGUISE”, DHAKA ART CENTER, DHAKA 2013

SOAKED DREAM PROJECT, GOETHE-INSTITUT DHAKA 2013

Internationally acclaimed experimental artist Firoz Mahmud is exhibited “Soaked Dream” at the Goethe-Institut in Dhanmondi. The photography based multimedia project addressed the social hopes through personal encounters and stories of life in the German capital Berlin where poetry met pragmatism. The Goethe-Institut Dhaka commissioned Mahmud as part of its Berlin Live programme to create an art project related to Berlin as the theme. The exhibition displays photographs of nine families, all having a special common relation to Berlin. The exhibition include a projected video clip of the same characters in the photographs relating to how the characters of his project see themselves and their dreams for the future. ‘It is a rebirth of collective hope and dream that families and their children would like to cherish their vision in their prosperous life and future and also cherish a vision of their own city Berlin through green eyeglasses,’ Firoz Mahmud told New Age. Green symbolises growth, harmony and better future. It is also a reflection of his connection with his own fascination for Germany while having Bangladeshi roots. This concept has been reflected symbolically in selecting the characters and their presentations in general – several characters have ties to Bangladesh.

LAMENTATION IN TWO LIES, SOLO SHOW OTA FINE ARTS 2011

The exhibition is featuring Layapa paintings series which he calls "Layapa Art" and sculptures. The paintings are on war and conflict, love and emotion and the sculpture/installation of 'Fat boys' are of fighter aircrafts which link to "Sucker wfp21" exhibited at 1st Aichi Triennale 2010. These paintings are based on long time battle between the Nawab of Bengals and British East Indian Company during Mughal Empire during 17th the Century. The paintings are diptychs, appearing as if they are confronting each other. Some diptych paintings are confronting each other to fight against, some confronting to show love and emotion, the other paintings appear as challengers and warriors and a few paintings depict the interplay of militarism and prejudice related to the state of war.

AICHI TRIENNALE 2010

The inaugural Aichi Triennale has just begun in Nagoya, the third largest city in Japan. Under the theme ‘Arts and Cities’, the Triannale explores the very concept of holding a large-scale, international exhibition in a city. Artistic director Akira Tatehata and an international curatorial team of six, including Pier Luigi Tazzi, Jochen Volz, Masahiko Haito, Takashi Echigoya, Eri Karatsu, and Emmanuelle de Montgazon, selected approximately 130 artists from around the world, in accordance with three features supporting the theme, ‘Spectacle’, ‘The Cutting Edge’, and ‘Complexity.’ Artworks are being exhibited at several venues including the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, the Aichi Art Center, the Nagoya City Art Museum, and a warehouse building in the Nayabashi area. In addition to these venues, site-specific installations are being shown in the streets and at vacant storefronts in the Choja-machi area, one of the major wholesale textile districts in Japan. This reflects Tatehata’s aim to transform the city into a space for the imagination. Tatehata also stated that he hopes that all participants including artists, curators, and the audience, share the state of “Absolute Beginners” when viewing this newly launched triennial. The launch of the Aichi Triennale and another festival taking place at the same time in Japan, the Setouchi International Art Festival, at least gives us the expectation that this will be an interesting new decade for international exhibitions held in Japan.

THE 9TH SHARJAH BIENNIAL 2009

The work of Firoz Mahmud is an investigation into social, poli t ical and belief systems and their interaction with human reali ty, both historically and in the present.

For the 9th Sharjah Biennial Mahmud created an epic mixed media work titled Halycon Tarp(2009). Using the Royal Bengal tiger as a motif, separate components of the work revealed aspects of Bangladeshi history, culture and politics. The main wooden structure, shaped like a traditional Bangladeshi hut, was painted in green `Layapa` with two jumping tigers forming the entrance gate and appearing in different forms within the structure including in a looped documentary video, in photographic stills and as tiger ‘portraits’.