The Blank hole

2020

Wood, Door viewer, Mud, Rice straw pulp, Cotton, Rice, Paddy, Dry leaf

In the pandemic situation, where we have spent over a year in our homes, my 9’x12’ room becomes the inspiration for my work –‘The blank hole’. In this work, I made four wooden white boxes in different sizes according to the ratio of my room. Each box has a peephole where viewers can look inside and experience different thoughts of isolation.

In a box smaller than a shoebox, I have placed a single dry leaf to remind us of the nature of life. Dying leaves hold the traces of memories, time and transformation.The inside panels of a box twice the smaller box’s size are covered in rice – a staple food in Bangladesh. In one corner, I have placed a piece of dry paddy. During this crisis, food leftovers/waste have taught us the importance of one seed.Another box is painted white inside, unlike the rest. Floating cotton wool balls gives viewers a sense of looking at a cloud. Unlike every other thing on earth, clouds don’t have any defined form. They live in a continuous process of forming and dissolving, both at the same time. The two phenomena, apparently contradictory, are taking place simultaneously.In the last box, I could fit in a sitting position. It is the largest one. Inside panels are covered with mud and drawings of prehistoric signs and symbols, which I have made with the pulp of rice straw. Spending time within blank walls, surrounded by emptiness and void, and lime falling off the walls, I am reminded of the walls of ancient caves where humans expressed themselves through a different form of language.

Leaves changing their forms in between the pages of books; food leftovers lying over the plates; watching the passing clouds through the window; looking at ants scurrying down my bedroom’s wall. Sometimes these small events around us teach us to understand the vitality of life. Here I try to connect different aspects of life around me and transform them with an optimistic approach.