the bite of the tarantula

The Zainul Gallery at Dhaka University’s Institute of Fine Art was the recent venue of the debut show of the Hyacinth Garden Gallery.

The show was given the ominous title of ‘The Tarantula’ and described in the subtitle of the catalogue as ‘A Multidisciplinary Group Exhibition.’ Symbolism seems to fascinate the moving spirits behind the venture, for both ‘hyacinth’ and ‘tarantula’ are words on which myth-mongering scholars could devote volumes. Hyacinth was a lovely Greek boy beloved of both Apollo and Zephyr. When he showed a preference for the sun-god, he came to a sticky end through the machinations of the rejected admirer, and where his blood was spilt there sprang the flower that bears his name. The hyacinth therefore readily offers itself as a symbol of doomed youthful loveliness. This is worth keeping in mind as we approach the show itself. The founder of the Hyacinth Garden Gallery, a non-profit making venture dedicated to the promotion of art, Laila Sharmin, in her brief and pithy introductory note to the catalogue takes us back several hundred years to southern Italy where for a couple of centuries there raged an epidemic of tarantism. She doesn’t mention that it was a psychiatric disorder, hysterical in nature, but makes symbolic capital of the legend that it was caused by the bite of the tarantula:

Once bitten the victim would fall into a trance that could only be cured by frenzied dancing. People would surround the victim while musicians would play mandolins, guitars and tambourines in search of the correct rhythm. Each beat would have a different effect on the victim causing various movements and gestures. Once the correct rhythm was found it was almost certain that the victim was cured. This legend has symbolic significance for our time. I called this exhibition ‘Tarantula’ for I think we are bitten by the evil of drug addiction, fundamentalism, obscurantism and self-deceit. We now need the correct rhythm and that rhythm can be only found in fine art which will ultimately heal us.

There is a commendable youthful idealism behind these words, but translating it into an exhibition is a difficult proposition. What we have here is a motley collection of 35 works by 35 persons, mostly artists, but there are photographers and poets as well. Among the artists are a few foreigners, which adds an interesting international dimension. Laila herself has a mixed media print that demonstrates her characteristic facility in this mode, and there are a number of other works that show promise but the rest?

Next time round, we hope, participants will be induced to mine their talents more assiduously. For the idea behind the venture is laudable; it should be encouraged.

Kaiser Haq is member of the Jamini editorial board

The Zainul Gallery at Dhaka University’s Institute of Fine Art was the recent venue of the debut show of the Hyacinth Garden Gallery. The show was given the ominous title of ‘The Tarantula’ and described in the subtitle of the catalogue as ‘A Multidisciplinary Group Exhibition.’ Symbolism seems to fascinate the moving spirits behind the…