Across South Asia, our cities are embedded with multiple strata of memories and complexities. Beneath the grounds of the spaces we occupy, are spaces and cities filled with histories that were once alive. Whether it’s Delhi which has been so many cities and villages before it became Delhi, or Calcutta, the city of love and joy, which hides beneath itself so many stories of torrents and tribulations, or Dhaka, a city as familiar and beloved as it is a stranger to the eyes and minds of people who live inside it now.
Once a major art and crafts centre, Dhaka is waking up to a new kind of art revolution now. The revolution has arrived and it is being spearheaded by new-age artists and collectives who are evoking the multitudinous layers of Bangladeshi nostalgia and stories to excavate the beauty and love that lies within.
One such pioneer is illustrator DhakaYeah! whom Homegrown had the opportunity to talk to. Talking about their choice to remain anonymous, they say, “The illustrator stays behind an illusory fold that helps to bring out the essence of Dhaka.” DhakaYeah! uses illustrations in hopes that everyone who witnesses DhakaYeah gets inspired to explore Dhaka and starts to fall in love with it.
DhakaYeah uses quirky illustrations to bring out the beautiful and the bizarre of South Asia and its culture. The illustrations are usually mild and subtle, filled with soothing hues. Yet, paradoxically enough, the imagery is extraordinarily striking and definitely of the kind that stays with the viewer. In conflating Western modes of desires with desi belongings, DhakaYeah’s sense of nostalgia is ever-evolving and starkly relatable. A beautiful evocation of post-colonial South Asia, DhakaYeah ascribes to as much of Shakespeare’s masala as they do to Tagore’s heart in their art. Rooh Afza is served with the full moon on a silver platter, and the monsoon tea is revived as a woman enjoying her tea alone with a dog peeking from below. Coca Cola (typed in Bangla) is illustrated as the favourite companion for when you find yourself staring at the big, black telephone, waiting for your lover’s call.
Then there are your common people whose art usually goes unnoticed. How beautifully does the middle-aged saree salesman drape the sari around his waist to show you the intricate Nakshi Kantha on the border! Or the tired watchman? DhakaYeah brings people, places, animals, food, and even nawabs together to ascertain that we are all essentially works of art. Everyone and everything is art, and nothing really is beyond the scope of art.
It exfoliates the different layers that build up on the surface like dust and brings out the raw, childlike essential of things, people, and circumstances.
In terms of inspiration from other artists, DhakaYeah says that Lebanese illustrator Nour Flayhan, French illustrator Agathe Singer, Canadian illustrators Natalie Czerwinski and Julia Iredale, and Hong Kong-based artist Victo Ngai have deeply influenced everything Dhakayeah does.
On being asked further about their inspiration behind their work, DhakaYeah said, “Dhaka is a city torn in the midst of chaos and hate, and deserves to be loved and celebrated. DhakaYeah wishes everyone in the city took notice of their surroundings. Through illustrations DhakaYeah! wants everyone to understand the complex layers of emotions that are attached to the neighbourhood, history, culture and the people of the city.”
Calling it a “homage to the city, a love letter of sorts,” DhakaYeah goes on to state that it was their deep attachment and affection with the city that brought DhakaYeah into existence. “The mundane, odd, whimsical, romantic and outright bizarre aspects of the city act as the biggest inspiration”, they continue.
When we asked DhakaYeah about their creative process, they chose to illustrate the same with an instance.
“During Halloween this year, we wanted to depict the most haunted place in Dhaka and turns out, Lalbagh Fort is one such place. Then the research began, the architecture, the angles, the colours that would bring out the essence of the atmosphere. Everything has to be planned out before a single -stroke is applied on the canvas. Sometimes during the process of illustration, some pre-planned ideas are left out and new ones are added. If it doesn’t feel right, it has to go and sometimes the entire illustration gets discarded. The most important purpose is to create an atmosphere and evoke nostalgia.”
Get to know DhakaYeah better
The first piece of art that inspired them: Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrman.
“The elaborate set designs and the striking visuals make every frame look like moving art.”
Contemporaries they look up to: @reshidev_rk and @giggling_monkey
If they could work on one project with the Indian government, it would be: A campaign on eradicating gender-based discrimination.
“It is an issue that’s not only a big problem in India but this whole subcontinent, and illustrations could be a perfect way to make an impact on educating the masses.”
Favourite piece of art they have worked on: ‘Rain In Dhaka’.
“It encapsulates the idea of what Dhaka is all about. It shows a girl with an umbrella having a hot cup of tea on the road and it’s pouring. She doesn’t care about anything, she just wants to enjoy her tea. The rain doesn’t seem to bother her at all.”
One project they would like to be part of: “During the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, a group of extremely talented artists created a series of posters for the freedom movement, calling for a united effort against an oppressive regime. Dhaka Yeah would have loved to be part of that project.”
Find DhakaYeah on Instagram here.
Shop DhakaYeah’s prints here.
DhakaYeah’s website is here.
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