Embroidery on the net with hair like wool, soil, Size: 7’ high X 4’ diameter, 2017
This installation elucidates the struggle of Bangladeshi refugees and immigrants who, as a result of forced exile, migrated in from east to west Bengal and in Europe. This conflict resulted in an ongoing antagonism between the two sides the East and West and it defines the social context in which I grew up.
In Europe during my travel and stay I often meet Bangladeshi nationals and due to common language background ‘Bengali’, encounters are often very quick and direct.
During my stay in Italy, I met lots of Bangladeshi nationals who refugeed in Europe for a better life but the reality is often the opposite. This mosquito net (mosari) has an old western duomo like architectural structure but extremely fragile. Bengali words stitched over the net are small excerpts from Bengali poet Joy Goswami’s famous poem: “Nandor Ma”. This poem is about migration and memory, about recalling the past. The poem depicts the emotional journey of a family, how they leave their home behind - it talks of borders, of partition, and of losing their child during their plight. It speaks of the loss of identity, of crossing immigration checkpoints and barbed wire. They end up living in exile, uprooted from their beloved homeland and their village.