Joydeb Roaja's solo exhibition at Jhaveri Contemporary
Dates & Venue:
14 July – 20 August 2022
Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India
About the art
Joydeb Roaja (b.1973, Khagrachari, Bangladesh. Lives and works in Khagrachari) has an interconnected performance, painting and drawing practice that highlights the challenging social and political landscape of Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts. The area is home to eleven indigenous groups including Roaja’s community, the Tripura. His works are tied to the experiences of indigeneity, often emphasising the deep and symbiotic connection of these groups with their land as well as the fight for recognition and rights in a state that has denied them. In line drawings, figures are entwined with the natural world and at times, share the pictorial plane with army personnel, guns and ammunition recalling the historic military occupation of the hill area. This presence remains imprinted in the communities’ collective memory with Roaja’s works forming an empowering call to demand autonomy and ensure preservation of these minority cultures. Roaja received his MFA in painting from Chittagong University in 1999.
Click here to read the essay written for the show by Artistic Director of Samdani Art Foundation and Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit, Diana Campbell.
Installation view
Joydeb Roaja
Photo credit: Mohammed Chiba
Courtesy Jhaveri Contemporary
Installation view
Joydeb Roaja
Photo credit: Mohammed Chiba
Courtesy Jhaveri Contemporary
Installation views
Joydeb Roaja
Photo credit: Mohammed Chiba
Courtesy Jhaveri Contemporary
Installation view
Joydeb Roaja
Photo credit: Mohammed Chiba
Courtesy Jhaveri Contemporary
Installation views
Joydeb Roaja
Photo credit: Mohammed Chiba
Courtesy Jhaveri Contemporary
Installation view
Joydeb Roaja
Photo credit: Mohammed Chiba
Courtesy Jhaveri Contemporary