Bipasha Hayat, a multi-talented artist, produced “Dreams” in 2015. With this work, she descends into the unconscious realm where articulation takes a whole different meaning as all things subliminal are absorbed into our life without us being aware of them. This mute piece, with its stark black surface that eludes light, separates itself from the idea of the picturesque to play with the idea of pure objecthood. Made with a painted cardboard, with this minimalist piece which was part of a large installation, Bipasha tests the water at the edge by blurring the boundary of art and a real-life object. Instead of attempting to respond to a moment or an event, she treasures the memory of a mundane object and homes in on the essence of it. As things sometimes become otherworldly in our dreams, this painted object too attains an aura of unreality through the intervention of the artist.
Bipasha Hayat
Bipasha Hayat is a prominent name in the cultural field of Bangladesh, mostly for his role as an ace actress of the country. She entered the art scene with her innovative works in the new millennium. Born in 1971, Bipasha completed her master’s from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka in 1998. She turned to conceptual art and successfully worked across many mediums and streetgems. Her works have been showcased in gallery and museum shows worldwide, with solo presentations held at Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Bengal Art Lounge, Gallery Chitrak, and Art Summit in Dhaka, 3B Gallery in Rome, LVS Gallery in Seoul, and Transform Gallery in New York. Her artistic achievements include an Honorable Mention award for her piece Memoir at the 17th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh in 2016. In 2023, she was awarded a prestigious fellowship from The Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, and she serves as an alumni member of the NYFA Immigrant Artist Program. She divides her time between New York and Dhaka.
Dreams
Art Style
Bipasha Hayat paints with her face to the world, not to tell stories but to arrive at some philosophical insights into phenomenal objects and historical events. She often finds a way to develop an understanding about the world through her works, and her invocation of truth, emotion and discourse usually appeal to viewers regardless of their gender, race, religion or social status. She has always been intrigued by the things she encountered in real life, though her artistic goal is to make visible the subliminal aspects of life. She focuses on the core idea we are able to come away with after listening to a story, traversing memories and plunging into dreams. Thus, in her realm, stillness is prioritised over movement, processes are cultivated rather than forms, leading to abstraction.