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Description
আগুনের মেয়ে (“Daughter of Fire”)
Tannaz Chowdhury
Acrylic on fir wood panel, 48”x36”
2023

Throughout my childhood, I grew uncomfortable in my identity. The impact of colonization has been such that individuals from Bangladesh have learned to undervalue the beauty inherent within our own civilization and instead aspire to emulate those who once oppressed us. As I shunned my culture to fit in, I was becoming a shell of the Bengali woman I could be. She is the elegant Phoenix who treasures her dark complexion because the sunlight allows it to shimmer. She gracefully drapes her sari without feeling shame for looking different because each golden stitch bears a plethora of history, hardship, emotion and pride. She is the inferno who isn't afraid to honor her traditional jewelry because each piece symbolizes her mother, grandmother and ancestors who wore it before her with their heads held high. She details herself in red Alta, wearing her teep proudly on her head. Her candle never ceases to burn because it is the blaze of all Bengali girls who grew up like her. She sits unrestricted, In her untraditional yet powerful pose, glaring into the face of disrespect and telling it exactly who she is. I created this piece because finally, after innumerable years and far too many tears, I became her.
I used a myriad of strategies to portray the resonant fervor that entailed creating this, such as design devices (disguising, isolation), acrylic techniques (alla prima, stippling, wet on wet, glaze, grisaille, chiaroscuro, sfumato), and unique pairings of compositional choices (foreshortening, rule of thirds, asymmetry). The juxtaposition and contrast of lighting and detail work to make me the focal point in my intricate piece. Every fold and pattern on the Sari creates movement leading you to my small, yet mighty, candlelight to convey my central theme of rebirth through fire.

Description
আগুনের মেয়ে (“Daughter of Fire”)
Tannaz Chowdhury
Acrylic on fir wood panel, 48”x36”
2023

Throughout my childhood, I grew uncomfortable in my identity. The impact of colonization has been such that individuals from Bangladesh have learned to undervalue the beauty inherent within our own civilization and instead aspire to emulate those who once oppressed us. As I shunned my culture to fit in, I was becoming a shell of the Bengali woman I could be. She is the elegant Phoenix who treasures her dark complexion because the sunlight allows it to shimmer. She gracefully drapes her sari without feeling shame for looking different because each golden stitch bears a plethora of history, hardship, emotion and pride. She is the inferno who isn't afraid to honor her traditional jewelry because each piece symbolizes her mother, grandmother and ancestors who wore it before her with their heads held high. She details herself in red Alta, wearing her teep proudly on her head. Her candle never ceases to burn because it is the blaze of all Bengali girls who grew up like her. She sits unrestricted, In her untraditional yet powerful pose, glaring into the face of disrespect and telling it exactly who she is. I created this piece because finally, after innumerable years and far too many tears, I became her.
I used a myriad of strategies to portray the resonant fervor that entailed creating this, such as design devices (disguising, isolation), acrylic techniques (alla prima, stippling, wet on wet, glaze, grisaille, chiaroscuro, sfumato), and unique pairings of compositional choices (foreshortening, rule of thirds, asymmetry). The juxtaposition and contrast of lighting and detail work to make me the focal point in my intricate piece. Every fold and pattern on the Sari creates movement leading you to my small, yet mighty, candlelight to convey my central theme of rebirth through fire.