Experimenter presents বনমানুষ / Bon-Manush, Shikh Sabbir Alam’s first solo exhibition in India and in the gallery, featuring a series of paintings. The title of this exhibition considers the individual meanings of the words in Bangla, বন / ‘forest’ and মানুষ / ‘person’ together to think about the interconnectedness between the world of human beings and nature. It finds its basis in the philosophy of প্রাণ ও প্রকৃতি / life and nature, and how the all-encompassing life force is at the basis of all creation in the universe. Alam is interested in exploring the possibilities of dichotomies and contradictions wrought in an entity like nature, which can be simultaneously beautiful and terrifying.
বনমানুষ / Bon-Manush also carries similar connotations of duality, as the word in Bangla translates to signify a person detached from the sophistication of urban life. Alam’s reflections begin with freehand drawings and crystallize into a more permanent form of paintings where the act of ‘seeing’ is brought to life, exploring how colour, form, and shape register in our minds. Rooted in the realm of flora and fauna, his works offer a lens into how our senses shape the way we perceive the world, evoking experiences of smell, taste, touch, and sound through the visual. Alam draws attention to the visceral potential of impermanence and uncertainty wrought in what we see and remember while questioning the boundaries between reality and fiction.
Shikh Sabbir Alam (b. 1982; Kushtia, Bangladesh) studied at the Oslo Academy of Fine Arts (MFA) and at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda, India (BFA). Select exhibition participations include, “In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire”, curated by Shubigi Rao, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India (2022-23); "Oude Wijn/Nieuwe Zakken - 50 Jaar Kunst In De Warande", Cultuurhuis De Warande, Turnhout, Belgium (2022); "Zoology", curated by Benedict Vandaele, Zebrastraat, Ghent, Belgium (2021); "Poetic Faith", S.M.A.K, Ghent, Belgium (2020); "Old Tree", Hordaland Art Center, Bergen, Norway (2020); "Destiny's Gratinée" Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway (2018); Dhaka Art Summit, curated by Diana Campbell Betancourt, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2018), among others. Alam’s work is held in the collections of S.M.A.K, the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art Ghent, Belgium, Fiorucci Art Trust, London, among others.
