Public Disclosure Authorized - World Bank · future in South Asia. JURIED ART EXHIBITION for artists born in or after 1975 from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,

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cover: War & Peace, Jignasha Ojha, 2010

Th e Vice Presidency for South Asia at the World Bank and the World Bank Art Program are honored to present the 25 winners of the international art competition.

South Asia remains the least integrated region in the world. Breaking barriers is not only about the economics and trade of goods and services. It is also about sharing ideas, feelings and visions. It is thinking out of the box and being creative. It is proposing, promoting change and expressing through art.

South Asia is home to the largest population of young people in the world. Th e new generations are vibrant, talented and open to diff erent points of view. Th ey are connected through technology and want their voices to be heard. Th ey are in constant movement and willing to break barriers to build a better and common future. Art is a way to communicate their experiences and thoughts not only to other young artists in the region, but to the rest of the world.

Th is is one of the reasons that inspired us to organize the South Asia regional art contest, “Imaging our future together,” opened to young artists from eight countries. We called artists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan and Sri Lanka to send pieces inspired on the idea of a more integrated region. We received more than 1,000 responses and it was very diffi cult to select the 25 fi nalists. Th e pieces of art submitted by these talented emerging artists — born in or after 1975 — were all powerful, colorful and truly inspiring. Just like South Asia itself.

South Asia is a region with big cultural diff erences and where confl ict has caused deep wounds and scars that in some countries are beginning to heal but that are still very painful in others. As regional cooperation is gaining traction, creative, artistic and cultural expression can really empower a vision of integration and impulse social change through connecting young artists across South Asia.

Th e art pieces selected to be part of an itinerant exhibition — to be showcased in Bangladesh, India and Washington, DC — sponsored by Th e World Bank mirror the rich imagination and the strong willingness of a group of artists who believe that barriers can be broken no matter how diff erent their realities, cultures, perspectives or challenges are. Th is contest has proven that art connects people and countries.

Th e new generations know the time has come to envision a future together without stereotypes and divisions. Th ey welcome the idea that their countries need to be more collaborative in order to ensure people’s welfare. As economic power shifts from west to east, the dream of an “Asian Century” is on the verge of being realized. With high growth, stronger regional links, and larger, richer domestic markets, Asia’s place in the world’s economic infrastructure is destined to rise in the 21st century. For it to be part of the “Asian Century,” the vision of South Asian integration and cooperation needs to be embraced by governments and citizens alike and artists have an important role in this process by creating a vision for a common future.

Isabel Guerrero, Vice President, South Asia Region, Th e World Bank

v

AT [email protected]

Application forms and guidelines:

http://tinyurl.com/6ltjyvv

The World Bank Art Program [email protected], phone +1-202-458-7320

inspired by a vision of a better common future in South Asia

JURIED ART EXHIBITION for artists born in or after 1975 from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka

This is an opportunity for you to present your ar-tistic vision inspired by the question, how to shape YOUR common future for the better.

April 30 2012 Deadline for Applications

Imagining our Future Together is organized by the World Bank Regional

Vice Presidency for South Asia and

the World Bank Art Program

SOUTH ASIA ARTISTS

Imagining our future

Th e World Bank’s ambitious mission requires constant adjustment to the complexities of a global and evolving reality. It relies heavily on knowledge sharing and to a lesser extent, on traditional development practices. Such dialogue requires an appreciation of the values and cultural framework of our partners and a willingness to break down all barriers. With this goal in mind, the World Bank Art Program discovers artists who act as sensitive social barometers and showcases their art as a medium to transcend national and cultural boundaries.

It is therefore an honor for us to be part of the innovative vision of the South Asia Region’s Vice Presidential Unit and bring together works by young artists from the eight member countries of this region. Imagining Our Future Together unites 25 artists under the age of 35 from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Th ese artists will present a panorama of core themes from their respective countries.

Th is is the latest initiative in the Art Program’s regional art project series. We had earlier presented Africa Now! Emerging Talents from the Continent on the Move (2008–2009), an art project that featured contemporary art from sub-Saharan Africa, and About Change (2009–2011) that introduced emerging artists from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Similar to those projects, when organizing Imagining Our Future Together, we pursued a broader goal than just considering the most recent developments in the art of the South Asia region. For us, this was an innovative way to approach the subject of regional integration, crucial to the success of countries in South Asia in the 21st century. Our aim is to off er viewers a vivid, conceptually daring, and unique commentary on the issues that concern people across South Asia. Viewers both within and outside the region will gain new perspectives in the discourse on regional integration.

We received more than 1,000 responses to our open call for entry. We observed that while artists came from diff erent backgrounds, worked with diff erent media and in diff erent styles, two things were common to all entries: a heightened sensitivity to beauty and the rejection of injustice and greed. Th ese tendencies were most evident in the works of the 25 winning artists presented here.

Imagining Our Future Together will be presented at shows in Dhaka, Bangladesh (October 2012) and New Delhi, India (November 2012). Participating artists have enthusiastically responded to the invitation to build a lively network of creative thinkers across the region through social media channels and in person, at the exhibition venues. From April 2013, the exhibited works will enter the permanent art collection of the World Bank in Washington, DC, USA where they will continue to fascinate our diverse staff and visitors. Imagining Our Future Together is not an exercise in utopia but, rather, a courageous and innovative attempt by the young artists of South Asia in partnership with the World Bank to showcase the beauty, creativity and challenges of the region and join hands to reach common goals.

Marina Galvani, Art Curator, Th e World Bank Art Program

Elena Grant, Guest Joint Curator, Th e World Bank Art Program

vii

ArtistsFarrah Mahmood Adnan 2

Ghafar Afridi 3

Hanifa Alizada 4

Shamil Aslam 5

Zabihullah Shakir Aziz 6

Yama Azizi 7

Mahfuzul Hasan Bhuiyan 8

Navin Chahande 9

Debasish Dutta 10

Ismail Ferdous 11

Liz Fernando 12

Hitman Gurung 13

Koshal Hamal 14

Fahad Hameed 15

Manjunath Honnapura 16

Muhammad Junaid 17

Koustav Nag 18

Jignasha Ojha 19

Sarker Naman Protick 20

Fahim Rao 21

Amit Romani 22

Ahmed Saeed 23

Prithvi Shrestha 24

Tenzin Tshewang 25

Ali Khan Yazdany 26

1

Farrah Mahmood AdnanPakistan, born 1976

I am very sensitive about my surroundings and have been into drawing and painting from my childhood. I think this sensitivity and tendency of deep thinking turned me into an “artist.” I practice the ancient Traditional Technique of Miniature Painting. My work deals with a range of social and political issues but as a female artist in a male-dominated society I am more inclined to talk about what it means to be a woman in the dark parts of the world. My work conveys meanings through the symbols that had been use in Traditional Art. In my work I draw attention to the abuse of power in all senses of the word, because I think that it is the root cause of a corrupt and unjust system that aff ects our personal judgment of human values. In this respect my work is a call to all those who think, desire and feel for the betterment of mankind.

Wajud-e-zansay… 2, 2012 gouache and gold leaf on paper 29 1/2 in. x 21 5/8 in. (75 cm x 55 cm)

Wajud-e-zansay… 1, 2012 gouache and gold leaf on paper 29 1/2 in. x 21 5/8 in. (75 cm x 55 cm)

2

I come from FATA, the region on the outskirts of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Here, the majority are illiterate and a gun culture fl ourishes. But in this brute culture there are educated people who take on as their duty to set people free to a brighter future through their life and work. I consider these people heroic, and would like to follow their example in the realm of the arts.

My photos for this exhibition are images of my thesis installation. Th e fi rst piece, Ignorance, has a man reading a newspaper with lava heading in his direction. It was my take on the apathy of the general public towards the turmoil brought by terrorism and the mass information transmitted to us. Th e remaining two pieces are fi gures of a terrorist and an anti-terrorist, each in front of fuming lava. Both heedless in their desire to control the minds of the common people, they go to the extremes; their game of action and reaction is often the cause of strife for the innocent public.

I’d like my art to compel people to work on stopping this game as it poses a serious threat to the advancement and solidarity of my homeland. I know it’s diffi cult but I hope that everything is possible and peace will prevail.

Ghafar AfridiPakistan, born 1983

Devil Doubles I, 2008–2009 digital print 30 in. x 22 1/2 in. (76.2 cm x 57.15 cm)

Devil Doubles II, 2008–2009 digital print 30 in. x 22 1/2 in. (76.2 cm x 57.15 cm)

Ignorance, 2008–2009digital print 24 in. x 32 in. (60.96 cm x 81.28 cm)

3

Hanifa AlizadaAfghanistan, born 1989

Art enables me to express my thoughts and experiences through visual media. My struggle to fi nd a clear answer to the question, “Who am I?” is the main reason for creating my photograph entitled “Th e Distance Between Us.”

Exploring my life experiences, I go back to the place I was born, followed by my life as an immigrant in Tehran, coming back to Afghanistan as a teenager, and living in Pakistan during my undergraduate studies.

I feel that photography is the best medium to enhance the gestures of the human body and its expressions – the main subjects of my work. Th e message I want to convey is my response to the questions I could never ask in my childhood. Sometimes they are questions are for my audience, so I can get a clearer answer.

Th e Distance Between Us, 2011 gelatin silver print 17 11/16 in. x 60 1/16 in. (45 cm x 152.5 cm)

4

I am an artist because I am passionate about representing the culture of the Maldives and to carry forth an important message: a cry for peace, harmony, love and understanding amongst us. I go by the name eden within because I have seen countless people coming to the Maldives in search of Paradise and thinking that Paradise is a place they see in a travel brochure. I feel that heaven or hell is what we make of it, we could carry heaven or hell within us. I chose to carry Paradise within me. We travel far and wide, we soar the skies and sail the oceans, searching, looking and seeking Utopia. Where is it? How far do we go? How deep do we look? Where can we fi nd happiness? Our eff orts are futile and Paradise is nowhere to be found. We keep searching, hoping and we keep forgetting... that Utopia does not exist, Paradise is this very moment and Eden... is found within.

Shamil AslamMaldives, born 1983

Gateway to Paradise, 2011 digital photo art on paper 33 3/8 in. x 15 7/16 in. (84.84 cm x 39.2 cm)

5

Zabihullah Shakir AzizAfghanistan, born 1978

I graduated from the Department of Agriculture of Kabul University. After graduation I became a journalist for BBC Radio Programs. Now I am Senior Producer at Sayara Media and Communications. I started taking photographs for my own interest in addition to photos for my work. I use photography because I like to get actual images of people in the moment. I also wish to show the world that although my country has been at war practically all of my life and there is so much despair, there is also endless beauty here.

Th e story of my photo “I Am Tired of Gun” began with a job assignment. I went to a rural area in the north of Afghanistan for an interview. When I fi nished the interview, I was very tired, the weather was very hot. Suddenly I saw a man who walked in front of me dragging his gun along. I was shocked and thought that maybe the gun was too heavy to carry. I took the picture of this man, walked up to him and asked about the gun. He replied, “I am tired of this gun, because of war I lost my family, I want disarm myself, I need peaceful life for me, my village and people.” He said this and left me.

I Am Tired of Gun, 2007digital print 11 11/16 in. x 8 1/4 in. (29.7 cm x 21 cm)

6

I was born in Afghanistan, have lived in Pakistan, and currently reside in the USA. I am a self-taught artist. I have always been infl uenced largely by Arabic calligraphy, ornaments and Islamic Art. I can work in drawing, painting, calligraphy, ornamental design, miniature art, digital art and also have a love for photography. My work can be seen on my website www.yamaazizi.com

My Love for Art began over 18 years ago. I think nothing can serve better than art to deliver the message of unity, beauty, love, peace and reconciliation in my war-torn country. Art is not just a passion but a big part of my life.

Yama Azizi Afghanistan, born 1988

Th e Tree and I, 2012 digital art 18 1/8 in. x 24 in. (46 cm x 61 cm)

7

Mahfuzul Hasan BhuiyanBangladesh, born 1975

By profession I am an architect. In 1992 I saw some master photography work and realized – this is my world. I learned photography by reading, experimenting and making mistakes. In 2007, due to lack of fi lm in my country, I started working in digital photography. Th is transformed me from a photographer into an artist. After much thinking and struggling, I concluded that what I really want to do is create images with life.

Photography for me is a way of life – and a fantastic one. Early on, people told me to pick just one thing, focus on it and become known for it. However, I believe that you must do what you love or you’ll never be successful. So I focus on my subject and my vision, not on equipment or processes. I shoot in a simple and light way, carrying just what I need. I explore diff erent subjects and styles as my vision constantly changes.

One Woman Army, 2009digital print 11 13/16 in. x 26 in. (30 cm x 66 cm)

8

I am interested in the tradition of the ancient Jataka tales wherein animals become main protagonists and are used as metaphors. In today’s context, we see animal symbols in advertisements for popular brands. Similarly, I use a decorative approach to create emblems which mean more than what they initially reveal.

Th e animals in my paintings for this show are from the “Culture and Symbol” project. Th ey represent the ‘guardians of the four directions’ of the Indian national emblem: the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west. Our emblem is based on a historic sculptural capitol of one of the columns that were erected across the subcontinent in the 3rd century BC to proclaim India’s commitment to nonviolence. My animals remind today’s viewers about this ancient principle.

Navin ChahandeIndia, born 1981

Culture and Symbol I–IV, 2011oil on canvas 54 in. x 54 in. (137.19 cm x 137.19 cm)

9

Debasish DuttaIndia, born 1978

Th is world is crowded with people. Hordes of them compete with each other everywhere and anywhere to fulfi ll their dreams and infi nite desires. I love mankind, mingled in the crowd. With them, I am running in this tedious and tiresome rat race. Creating my own path and making my way through them to reach my destination seems tough. I do not know when but I will reach the goal that I have set for myself.

Journey, 2011 acrylic on canvas 59 1/16 in. x 48 13/16 in. (150 cm x 124 cm)

Doll 3, 2011 mixed media, acrylic on board 48 13/16 in. x 37 3/8 in. (124 cm x 95 cm)

10

To me art is a channel that speaks about my love, agony, dreams and gives a meaning to my feelings. I take photos to express my thoughts to the world, I know that a photo can be not only my own voice but also can speak for the humanity. My photographs are my statement. Th ey are a simple medium to depict South-Asian life. I became an artist/photographer because I love people and culture. I started visiting places, listening to people’s stories, capturing them with my camera. I would say that I am merely a storyteller who tells the tales of people’s lives with his camera.

Ismail FerdousBangladesh, born 1989

Landscape, India, 2009 gelatin silver print 20 in. x 20 in. (50.8 cm x 50.8 cm)

People, 2010 gelatin silver print 20 in. x 20 in. (50.8 cm x 50.8 cm)

11

Liz FernandoSri Lanka, born 1982

My biography and research into the role of the photograph in South Asia highlights the diff erent role that photography, memory and the personal archive occupy in non-western cultures.

In Sri Lanka, my father’s place of birth, humidity destroys the photographic object in a slow and unstoppable process until it vanishes completely, as though it had never existed. As a result, my photographic family archive vanished over the years. Th e oral history became the precious but fragile string for my own identity and this work. It is not nostalgia but a sensual and naive story of a boy and a girl playing in the streets of the 1950’s post colonial Trincomalee, a city where a 40 years lasting civil war was yet to unfold. It is a story ambiguous and ungraspable, it is the story of the lost photographs of my father’s childhood and also allows space for the viewer to reconnect with his own memories.

Trincomalee—My Father’s Stories, 5, 2011 gelatin silver print13 3/4 in. x 7 7/8 in. (35 cm x 20 cm)

Trincomalee—My Father’s Stories, 2, 2011 gelatin silver print13 3/4 in. x 7 7/8 in. (35 cm x 20 cm)

12

My artworks are a synthesis of contrasts in our society. It is an expression of dualities between practical and ideological thoughts of human beings. I try to fi nd clear and meaningful ways to depict my concepts.

In the paintings “Save Yourself First” and “Save Life Together” I illustrated the duality of perceptions in two episodes. In the fi rst episode, the character holds a house in his hand. It represents the self-centered, ambitious, greedy and desperate position of today’s human beings who are focused upon their basic needs. Th e second episode depicts a harmonious interconnection of people and nature. In it, a character holds a fresh plant representing the consciousness for preserving nature. In the contemporary scenario, the character in second episode seems to be idealistic and impractical. Th rough this I tried to depict two dissimilar realities we are living in.

Hitman GurungNepal, born 1986

Save Live Together, 2012 acrylic on canvas 47 1/4 in. x 35 7/16 in. (120 cm x 90 cm)

Save Yourself First, 2012 acrylic on canvas 47 1/4 in. x 35 7/16 in. (120 cm x 90 cm)

13

Koshal Hamal Nepal, born 1988

For a long time, I have been dwelling on how I can defi ne my artistic journey—a journey of poetic outlook and philosophical examinations of art. With the act of appropriation, I started off with a painting of a painting using frame as a visual metaphor for contemporary cultural values. I analyzed the subject matter of these paintings, most of which were portraits of historical fi gures of stature. Th is drove me to explore miniature painting. Today, I do not have a particular individuality in my work. My inspiration rises from the study of the socio-cultural logic that has infl uenced art throughout the ages. I want to create a philosophical visual diary which contains various rooms within rooms as a means of portraying history. Th e notion of identity and the representation of misrepresentation are the main features of my work.

Th is Is Not a Housefl y, 2011 acrylic on canvas 84 1/4 in. x 118 1/8 in. (214 cm x 300 cm)

14

Fahad HameedPakistan, born 1984

I was born in Sharjah, UAE and started my study of visual arts with a three-year program in traditional art at Naqsh School of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan. After graduation I entered the Beaconhouse National University receiving my B.F.A. with honors in 2011. I am currently living, teaching and working in Pakistan.

I absorbed the acute attention of contemporary artists to form while refi ning my own focus on the emerging technology for spatial analysis. My work invites technology to heighten awareness of our existence through visual experience.

As my work develops from imagined digitized environments to new media art, my fascination with “the other” continues to be unwavering. Ultimately, I hope to invite the viewer to question how technology can concurrently create, destroy, conceal and expose itself within our shared environment.

Point Zero, 2011 digital print on vinyl and tube light 47 5/8 in. x 47 5/8 in. (121 cm x 121 cm)

15

Manjunath Honnapura India, born 1981

Never before has history been so close to us as in the contemporary times. A dynamic negotiation with the past has led to a paradigm shift in the Post-Modern cultural production. Contemporary artists, on the other hand, are fi nding complex and equally dynamic ways of expressing the pulse of their time. Th rough my work I try to generate a multi-layered response to the past and, in the process, to deconstruct the present reality. In my works, history is not just a visual sign but a ‘text’ that generates diff erent meanings in diff erent contexts.

untitled, 4, 2010 mixed media on paper pasted on canvas 54 5/16 in. x 54 5/16 in. (138 cm x 138 cm)

16

Muhammad JunaidPakistan, born 1977

I use mirror and glass as a representation of my inner self, and paint application as a refl ection of the chaos and depression of city life in metropolises like Karachi. I incorporate various forms of illusion in painting on canvas and mirror. I design my own mirrors with diff erent focal points, refl ecting diff erent perspectives and depths. My work refl ects ambiguity between reality and its distortions—I attempt to create a space that has not been seen or experienced before.

I am also interested in the extensive use of mirror in traditional art practices of Pakistan. I plan to research and document the techniques and designs used by master artists across Pakistan. Th us on the one hand I improve my art practice through latest developments in optics, and on the other hand I explore traditional artistic uses of mirror.

untitled, 2009 oil on acrylic hemisphere 13 3/4 in. x 13 3/4 in. x 13 3/4 in. (35 cm x 35 cm x 35 cm)

17

Koustav NagIndia, born 1982

A person’s identity is defi ned by the geo-political and cultural borders. In a way, these abstract borders alienate us from larger cultural and social experiences. Erasing these boundaries means to me creating a greater human community. Virtual and print media aided by various electronic gadgets help me create this global community.

My search, through my art, is for the junction where these ideas and signs meet. I intend to fi nd out how we are related to each other and to diff erent objects in the virtual as well as the real world. In my works, it is a ‘Social Fusion’ that I intend to represent.

Space for Performance I, 2012 photograph and acrylic on paper 47 1/4 in. x 31 7/8 in. (120 cm x 81 cm)

18

Jignasha OjhaIndia, born 1979

My work is based on the interaction of two cultures: our modern Indian culture which is infl uenced by the West and the traditional Indian culture—the past and the future. I wish to understand what we can take from our traditions and give to our modern culture.

In my work I blend traditions of miniature painting and images of contemporary popular culture. Tradition in my works creates a Drama and gives a Message. Sometimes it creates a Question about the present. Tradition is our soul and Modernity is our body. We know that Old is Gold, because the past holds so many experiences. When we open the book of our experiences we are the viewer, and we can judge what’s right to do now. My work is a time machine where experiences of the past and the present come together and create a new understanding.

Dream II, 2011 acrylic on canvas 36 in. x 36 in. (91.5 cm x 91.5 cm)

War and Peace, 2010 acrylic on canvas 36 in. x 36 in. (91.5 cm x 91.5 cm)

19

Sarker Naman ProtickBangladesh, born 1986

Of River and Lost lands

Down by the river, a tree fl oats. It’s gigantic, hundreds of years old. Nobody wishes to remove it.It’s a sacred tree, from an old Hindu temple, now fallen. Into the river. Once upon a time there was a village here. Th en the river took it. Th ese banks are made of clay and sands. Th e monsoon arrives and the river runs fastest. Th e lands get washed away and disappear. I explore the life that evolves here, around the river, depends on the river. A river that gives so much. A river that takes away, everything.Th is is a story of river and lost lands.

Of River and Lost Lands, 2, 2011 digital print 24 1/2 in. x 36 13/16 in. (62.23 cm x 93.47 cm)

Of River and Lost Lands, 1, 2011 digital print 24 1/2 in. x 36 13/16 in. (62.23 cm x 93.47 cm)

20

Fahim RaoPakistan, born 1983

On a collective level, our past mistakes and accomplishments defi ne our future. On a personal level, I imagine a future that is restored to its once pure state, fi lled with love, tolerance and respect. In this vein, I read my artworks as poetry and see them as ‘building blocks’ of nature. Th e ‘Untitled’ wood sculpture is stripped to its bones and polished to restore its aesthetic and contemplative potentials. Th e sculpture reiterates my concept of Utopia in the turmoil of life in Pakistan and constructs new ways to live and relive my ‘imagined’ future.

untitled, 2011 wood 23 1/16 in. x 23 1/16 in. x 30 1/2 in. (58.5 cm x 58.5 cm x 77.47 cm)

21

Amit RomaniIndia, born 1981

Man evolved from his naturalistic state to a techno-based lifestyle where on a click of a fi nger everything is attainable to him and the same click is the cause of world destruction. My work raises questions about humanity in its social-ethical context.

Th e cow, the most worshiped animal in our Indian tradition, is today at the mercy of our love that is conditioned by time and money; a holy animal waiting to be fed by a worshiper. Th e purity cow stands for is clad today with the fi lth created by society. As a child, watching cows at a pet shelter in South Mumbai gave me immense pleasure. With time I saw the same cows wandering around the city in search of food and shelter. Living in Mumbai since birth I feel the same dislocation as the cow. Physically, socially, creatively, I search for my own space, my individuality in the illusionary background of worldly experiences.

untitled, 5, 2011–2012 acrylic on canvas 70 7/8 in. x 47 1/4 in. (180 cm x 120 cm)

untitled, 1, 2011–2012 acrylic on canvas 70 7/8 in. x 47 1/4 in. (180 cm x 120 cm)

22

Ahmed SaeedPakistan, born 1989

I was born and raised in the vibrant city of Lahore. Coming from a long line of miniature painters, I have practiced miniature art for over eleven years. I learned the basics of the ‘trade’ at an early age, fi rst as an illustrator. Th en I received a diploma from the Naqsh Academy. Currently, I am a student in the Fine Arts Department of the National College of Arts. I hope that my work can bring to contemporary art a sense of tradition and local art that we Asians have prided ourselves for, for as long as we can remember. Mere skill paraded in paint cannot produce a true impact. I have studied in many schools, but everyone, everywhere gets rationalized, often leaving no room for imagination. I always want to use something else, for example mixed media, with miniature. Th is, for me, is breaking a rigid school of artistic practice. “Th ere is reason but no logic.” In my mind it must always remain so to prevent logic from transcending upon the free wings of art.

Decoding a Framed Heritage, 2012 mixed media on vasli paper 18 in. x 13 1/2 in. (45.75 cm x 34.25 cm)

All the King’s Men, 2012 gouache on paper 6 in. x 13 in. (15.25 cm x 33 cm)

23

I am an artist because through art I can express best what I feel in my heart and in my mind. I know that art can be a strong instrument in protecting our environment. I work on subjects, such as human life and the impact of culture and nature on our lives. In my artworks I try to show how related we are to nature. Today, due to ongoing changes in the environment, we are facing many problems. Many of our activities destroy our beautiful nature and deny its importance. Th ings made by us humans for fulfi lling our requirements can be detrimental to us. But it should be us who preserves the nature. Our identity as humans gets lost due to our today’s needs.

Prithvi Shrestha Nepal, born 1977

Sky, Land and Water, 2011 acrylic on canvas 38 3/16 in. x 38 3/16 in. (97 cm x 97 cm)

I Want to Fly, 2011 acrylic on canvas 38 3/16 in. x 38 3/16 in. (97 cm x 97 cm)

24

I am a hereditary painter from a family of painters. I studied traditional Bhutanese scroll and wall painting at the National Institute of Th irteen Arts in Th imphu, Bhutan for eleven years. I graduated in 2000 and became a trainee teacher. Now I am a teacher at the Institute.

After making many paintings I am growing to become wiser. I use more imagination and this helps me understand this living world. Whenever I have visions of diff erent happenings in this world I wish to express them in art. I feel that it is a very good exercise. My paintings derive from Bhutanese tales. I want to tell these tales to art lovers in a simple visual way. Th e world we live in and enjoy is also a realm of all suff ering. In a way, it is empty since everything is impermanence. So through my art I wish to tell that everything is impermanence.

Tenzin Tshewang Bhutan, born 1977

Th e Existence of War World, 2012 acrylic on canvas21 5/8 in. x 17 in. (55 cm x 43.18 cm)

25

Ali Khan YazdanyAfghanistan, born 1979

Basics Together, 2012 acrylic on paper 11 1/4 in. x 6 1/8 in. (28.5 cm x 15.63 cm)

Being Together, 2012 acrylic on paper 11 1/4 in. x 6 1/8 in. (28.5 cm x 15.63 cm)

I was born in the Hazarajat Wardak province and fi nished high school in Kabul. Th en, according to the interest I had, I entered the Fine Arts Department of Kabul University graduating in 2003. I recently received a Master of Fine Arts degree in the Netherlands. Now I teach art at Kabul University.

My paintings are “Being Together” and “Basics Together.” “Being Together” is about couples, a man and a woman, together. If the two genders live together, it will make a happy and successful future. In “Basics Together” I used the three basic colors as the three basics in a country: government, people and culture. If these basics come together in all countries, the whole continent will have a better and happy future.

26

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS IN IMAGINING OUR FUTURE TOGETHER

AFGHANISTAN Zabihullah Shakir Aziz

Yama Azizi

Hanifa Alizada

Ali Khan Yazdany

BANGLADESH Mohammed M. Hasan Bhuiyan

Ismail Ferdous

Naman Protick Sarker

BHUTAN Tshewang Tenzin

INDIA Navin Chahande

Debashish Dutta

Manjunath Honnapura

Koustav Nag

Jignasha Ojha

Amit Romani

MALDIVES Ahmed Shamil Aslam

NEPAL Hitman Gurung

Koshal Hamal

Prithvi Shrestha

PAKISTAN Ghafar Afridi

Fahad Hameed

Muhammad Junaid

Farrah Mahmood Adnan

Fahim Rao

Ahmed Saeed

SRI LANKA Liz Fernando

SOUTH ASIA ARTISTS

Imagining Our Future Together is a group exhibition organized by the World Bank. Featuring the work of 25 young artists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it will be presented in Dhaka, New Delhi and Washington, DC from September 2012 through May 2013.

Th is international art show is inspired by the realization that cooperation among the countries of South Asia is key to the region’s success in the 21st century. Recognizing that art matters and artists have an important role in creating a vision for a common future, this exhibition evolved in a platform showcasing the beauty, creativity and challenges of the South Asia region. Imagining Our Future Together supports the eff ort to think about constructive solutions for building a better future for all. And what better example of transcending borders and breaking stereotypes can be seen than in art created by emerging artists, some of our society’s most perceptive, creative and genuine minds?