Lala Rukh Selim
Artist Bio
Lala Rukh Selim (born in Dhaka, 1963) is a sculptor and Professor at the Department of Sculpture, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She completed her BFA (Sculpture) from the University of Dhaka (1984) and her MFA (Sculpture) from Visva Bharati, India in 1989. She has participated in national and international exhibitions including in the 55th Venice Biennale, 2013.
Artwork
Name: In the time of a Pandemic (2) During lockdown in May 2020, I performed at home, photographed by my son-in-law, Afzal Hossain. Unsatisfied with just images, I scribbled over them, expressing the fear that crept in. Wrapped in red cloth, I embodied womb, blood, cocoon—entangled in webs of creation, protection, and an unseen, possibly sinister presence.
The painting/cutout is based on a photo from the 1930s when constructing skyscrapers became a strong drive, and the competition to build the world’s tallest building was fierce. I used this image as a symbol of human desire. I replaced the ridiculous-looking hats in the photo with more recent tall buildings, indicating ongoing development and devastation to our environment, using a lone frog to represent nature.
Medium: Mixed Media/Cutout on board (framed)
Size: 66cm x 86cm framed, (60cm x 80cm unframed)
Year: 2024