- by Abdullah Al Masud (published in Dhaka Tribune on 19 Nov 2024)

A creative explosion in a nation, shaped by its legacy of youth movements; that is what exactly occurred in Bangladesh during the months of August and September of 2024. Bangladeshi Gen Z demonstrated the power of art and self-restraint as they painted hundreds of murals and graffiti throughout the country.

Collectively and organically, they chose art as a vehicle to express their bottled-up raw emotions, resulting from the loss of hundreds of their fellow protesters in the streets as they led a successful people’s revolution, a few weeks before. Through texts and images, this young generation commemorated their fallen comrades, documenting a significant part of Bangladeshi socio-political history in the process.

On the Gen Z commemorative portal at www.genzmove.com, our goal is to curate their unprompted documentation through photographs and written descriptions. Our intention is to highlight the intents, expressions, and contributions of the young artists, who poignantly chose art over violence to articulate collective emotions of countless Bangladeshi citizens. We aim to acknowledge how they have inspired us by their composure as well as their liveliness in expressing serious issues with poise and ingenuity.

As this exhibition of spontaneous expressions unfolded in front of our eyes, we realized not only the power of art, but also the power of Gen Z, that has often been dismissed as the Tik-Tok generation in the minds of many older generations. They taught us how feelings of frustrations can be turned into something positive, forceful, and transformative, while concurrently bringing people together. Their art proves that beneath the existing stereotypes lies a generation capable of harnessing creativity to inspire, to provoke thought, and to foster communities.

It is essential that their work is taken seriously. Because, these wall paintings are more than only texts and images; they are reflections of authentic and candid versions of these young minds. If we look into the history of graffiti, initially, Jean-Michel Basquiat (American) or Banksy (British) come to mind. Their works generate dialogues, as opposed to many other graffiti on walls, as they address serious issues; such as, race relationships, colonialism, oppression addressing collective concerns and experiences. Their unique abilities to skillfully embed historical references provoke viewers’ minds, leading them to enquire about the contexts of these works.

One of the most important contributions of these artists were to bring in the “low art” (art generally made by women in their intimate interiors for household uses, untrained artists, folk artists, anarchists, etc) into the world of “high art” (art created by academically trained artists, whose art are exhibited and sold in renowned galleries and museums).

Before Basquiat’s exposure in the art world, graffiti used to be categorized as “low art” until it became a significant part of the Modern Art movement. Upon securing a solid position in the mainstream art world, serious graffiti work continues to push the definition of art beyond presentations of objects only. They invited open interpretations of these marks by their audience, alongside welcoming audience involvements in the creative process. Bangladeshi Gen Z’s spontaneous choice of graffiti, a timely and an effective medium in their context, propagates these dialogues.

Similar to Basquiat and Banksy, our young artists created art based on serious contents, spoke of serious issues with such an ease that may even baffle academically trained artists. Students from all levels and types of educational institutions (school, college, university, madrasa, private, public, Bangla and English medium) portrayed their context as their themes, with fluid collaborations and expressions.

Neither the creators, nor the spectators were concerned about anatomical accuracies, fluid brush strokes, proportions of typefaces -- typical traditional concerns of academically trained eyes. People were/are already captivated by the contagious raw emotions poured into the images.

Studying the nature of these murals and graffiti, as artists and art lovers, we kept contemplating the word “authenticity,” a term that has become a dialogue generator in the contemporary art world. Authenticity speaks to the genuine expression of an artistic voice and the unfiltered communication of experiences, perspectives, and emotions.

In an age where digital replication, mass production, and trend-driven content dominate our visual culture, the search for what is “real” or “authentic” is natural. General audiences and critics are drawn to works that resist the superficial and embrace truthful representations of an artist’s inner world as well as their sincere understanding of the world around them.

In the contemporary art landscape, authenticity is not only about the sincerity of an artist’s message; it is also about the dialogues it creates. Art that is perceived as authentic tends to resonate on a profound level, fostering discussions that challenge societal norms, push boundaries, and invite reflections. It generates conversations about who gets to define what is “real” and which criteria are used to measure this authenticity. Bangladeshi Gen Z’s style of objectively expressing their raw, immediate, and unfiltered emotions is rooted in their authenticity.

Movements, such as the one in Bangladesh, the pursuit of authenticity transcends any personal expression -- it becomes a statement of collective identity. What connects all the images, all over the country, is a great sense of freedom, as the young minds celebrated through their unrestrained creativity; as if all of them knew the underlying theme of “freedom.” The fact is, without any external dictation, these students boldly kept expressing what they genuinely felt. This organic artistic explosion itself visually expressed their new-found freedom.

In the process, a collective experience of an entire population got reflected in their images and writings, along with their exemplary practice of comradery. For example: the expenses of their artworks were sponsored by themselves, their loving families, as well as by the pleasantly surprised Bangladeshi public. All of them volunteered time, energy, and in some cases, their meal expenses, because the artworks were not commissioned by wealthy donors by any means.

Bangladeshi Generation Z vented their frustrations in the most evocative and ingenious way possible as they or their creations harmed no one; even anyone opposing their protests, had to subconsciously admire how clean and beautiful Bangladesh looks as a result of their collaborations. They chose a path that is devoid of any negativity though dark events, including deaths of their fellow protesters led them to take the streets in the first place. Their choice of speaking through creativity presents volumes about their values: Dignity over negativity.

Our genzmove.com portal is a purposeful attempt to curate what these young artists already documented fearlessly and enthusiastically. Their ephemeral creations might be washed away by monsoon rains and regular dust, however the initiatives and messages by these young Bangladeshi students will remain engraved, forever, in our psyche as this creative explosion is unprecedented in world history.

Writers:
Mahera Khaleque is an artist, based at the University of Georgia where she is an adjunct faculty of Drawing and Painting; Abdullah Al Masud is an economist and advisor to the Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology, and Kazi Shahidul Islam is an entrepreneur and consultant in the IT sector. As art lovers and passionate to the cause, together they are working for genzmove.com.