Temperament of Time: Dastagir explores life, machines and religion
Artist Syed Golam Dastagir's solo exhibition 'Temperament of Time' is currently taking place at the Shilpangan gallery in the city.
The exhibition showcases two decades of works by the artist, through seven serieses.
Dastagir tried to convey various human interactions and emotions through his artworks.
With each brushstroke, the artist captured various human conditions and aspects of life. Dastagir has a very keen eye for life, coupled with a witty imagination, which is reflected in his works. Over the last two decades, the artist witnessed and felt the changes in this city, in technology and in human behaviour. His thoughts and vulnerabilities are expressed on the canvases with subtle sensitivity.
Beginning on 22 October, the exhibition will be open for all till 4 November.
TBS picks
Among the displayed works, TBS has picked a few that stand out
Figuring Self
This watercolour painting belongs to a series of the same name. This particular artwork represents an emotion that the artist was experiencing before painting it. The painting features a face that seems upset, represented by the dark blue colour on one side of the face. The texture of the canvas and confusing expression on the face captures the gloomy mood of the individual, who is the artist himself.
Talking about the series, Golam Dastagir said, "This entire series is a visual representation of a range of emotions that I have felt at different periods of a day, in different situations in my life. This is very close to my heart as it represents my inner self."
Post artificial intelligence era
This painting has been done with watercolour on paper and is a part of 'The Interface of intelligence' series. It portrays the conflict between humans and machines through human figures that have empty brains and various structures inside it.
"I started working on this series in the mid 1990's. It was the time when modern technology was developing. The rapid changes of that period made me start thinking about what the future is going to look like and how humans and the machines are going to coexist? From that thought I made this series and this painting is an indispensable part of the series."
"I always worry if machines or artificial intelligence will dominate humans someday? This series represents that thought of mine," he added.
Revisiting genesis
This beautiful artwork was done with synthetic enamel on paper. Its subject matter and colour palette make it very unique. This is a painting from the series of the same name. In the painting, viewers will find many characters such as the devil and angel in metaphoric shapes, as well as various religious symbols that are connected with various religions, scriptures, and human existence in general.
"Through this series, I tried to connect with the history of human existence and explore the idea of genesis, religions, human nature etc."
