City Bird

As an artist participating at the beginning of the Porapara Space for Artists, I had the privilege of taking part in an art workshop led by the talented artist Mahbubur Rahman. The workshop was titled \”Animated Sculpture\” and aimed to explore the possibility of creating a visual language by combining mechanical ideas with sculptural forms.

During the workshop, I connected wings to a rickshaw in a way that allowed it to move like a bird flapping its wings when the rickshaw was in motion. I also fashioned a hat for myself out of the rickshaw hood. In a surreal live performance, I attempted to drive the rickshaw down the street in front of Alliance Frances in Chittagong while an exhibition of our artwork was on display inside the venue.

Through this work, I sought to express the hope of escaping the traffic congestion that plagues our cities. The rickshaw\’s transformation into a bird serves as a metaphor for this desire for freedom. The idea of an animated sculptor was also reflected in the attachment of wings to the installation, which added an element of movement and life to the work.

To make this performance work accessible to a wider audience, an installation of the piece is now on display in the gallery. Viewers can witness this surreal and thought-provoking work on a TV monitor, which captures the energy and dynamism of the original live performance.