Rupali Gupte and Prasad Shetty, Belly of the Strange (2023). Immersive bamboo and wood structure. Co-commissioned by Dhaka Art Summit and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Exhibition view: Dhaka Art Summit 2023 (3–11 February 2023). © Dhaka Art Summit 2023. Photo: Shadman Sakib.
The sixth edition of the biennial Dhaka Art Summit (DAS 2023) (3–11 February 2023) was given a Bengali name for the first time: বন্যা/Bonna. Apparently a common name for girls in Bangladesh, Bonna translates to 'flood', which speaks to the monsoon cycles that shaped the land, situated on the world's largest river delta, and its entangled cultures.
Bangladesh's geography positions it among the countries most impacted by climate change. Weather irregularities causing catastrophic floods have created unimaginable damage while highlighting traditional farming methods as highly innovative—such as the water-hyacinth rafts, known as dhap, upon which farmers in the south sow their crops.
Munem Wasif's installation পতন / Collapse (2021–2023), positioned outside the DAS 2023 auditorium, includes a large black-and-white photograph framed on black metal scaffolding, depicting a brutalist structure standing on the Jamuna River with stilt-like columns. Nearby, two black steel-framed columns display black-scale shots that contrast the rigid lines of modernist constructions with enigmatic close-ups of water, plus one image where veins bulge out of a clenched forearm. More photographs are arranged choreographically on the wall—a rocky arch; a glowing, white moon; watery ripples.
[This article continues to feature the works of Munem Wasif, Neha Choksi, Rupali Gupte, and Prasad Shetty at the Dhaka Art Summit]
