Nusrah Chowdhury

The purpose of this exhibition is to depict hope through the contrast of light and dark. I originally wanted to have a theme of purely the suffering and darkness of life, but as I made more pieces I noticed that there were more cheerful undertones that were reflected by my emotions at the time. This exhibition also includes a broad range of mediums, so I chose pieces that were similar in color scheme to make it more cohesive. Through each work, I want the audience to experience a mix of emotions, from melancholy to content.

The two strongest technical pieces are probably War Paint and Burn Yourself. I was really heartbroken over the Uyghur muslims being put into concentration camps and as a muslim I experienced islamophobia and have friends who had to deal with many deragatory comments because of their religion, and I wanted to express my frustration and empathy through this piece. I experimented with facial expressions and hand poses until the character I was drawing conveyed the emotions I wanted. I had many issues with creating a realistic skin texture, which I was able to fix by looking at reference pictures and studying professional artists’ skin painting process. Since the character was mainly warm-toned browns, I made the background dark blue, with glowing hands reaching towards her to add contrast and bring more attention to the focal point. For Burn Yourself, I had a very similar process and color scheme, but I was inspired to make this piece because I was fascinated by the folktales surrounding phoenixes. I was able to draw parallels between the phoenix’s rebirth and developing as a person, which I was able to express through my work. However, the biggest inspiration of my work comes from my emotions.

Most of the work is flat and 2D so I would have arranged it all on a wall. I would have had a projector or screen to show the animation. The largest pieces, Burn Yourself and Blindly Hoping, would have been in the center and the other paintings would be centered around it. If I had the materials I would frame the watercolor pieces and print out one of the digital art pieces to hang them up.

Fallout

Animation

Winter 2020

This piece was influenced by the works of William Kentridge, who utilized minimal movement and color palettes to leave a powerful message. The story is about a girl who comes across a war-torn town and is able to find a small sign of life among all the rubble. I hand-drew each frame and made the background music through audacity and edited the video together with DaVinci Resolve.

Stone-faced

30.48 cm x 45.72 cm

Mixed Media

Fall 2019

Part-inspired by Daria Callie and Vermeer. There are two sides to every person. The side that we see and the side that they see.

Imagine a one-dimensional character in your favorite show. A supporting character, who’s there for comic relief or to further the plot. They are hopelessly trapped in your perception of them. They are nothing other than what you see on your screen.

War Paint

45.72 cm x 30.48 cm

Digital Art

Spring 2020

This piece is about the unwanted stigmas and alienation that come with being a muslim. The war paint that every muslim girl didn’t want to wear and the battle she is forced to fight everyday around the world. I had a lot of fun experimenting with hand poses and I think the hands in the background elevate the message further. I painted this with Corel Painter and used my own hands for reference.

Blindly Hoping

60.96 cm x 91.44 cm

Acrylic on Masonite Board

Spring 2019

Inspired by Indian-Hungarian artist Amrita Sher-Gil and George Frederic Watts, instead showcasing the plight of women I want to highlight how overtime our situation is improving, little by little. Sometimes we have to go in blind and hope for the best like the mother blindly hoping for the best for her children.

Burn Yourself

101.6 cm x 76.2 cm

Acrylic on Canvas

Winter 2020

A phoenix rising out of the ashes symbolizes new beginnings. There are conflicting records of whether or not the phoenix must burn or simply die, but all end in a beautiful rebirth. Within all the rubble and ashes and embers and death, there is that ray of hope of becoming a newer, better, and stronger person, just like the phoenix. Where there is death there is also life.

False Hope Series

At the time of the first photo, I was hoping for a snow day but it happened to fall on a day where there was already no school. I had also seen photographers such as Amy Weiss photographing flowers blooming in the snow so I used a fake flower to create a different meaning. I then painted a fairy over it turning it into a real flower, to end the story on a happier note.

False Hope

45.72 cm x 30.48 cm

Mixed Media

Winter 2020

False Hope?

45.72 cm x 30.48 cm

Mixed Media

Winter 2020

Irises

Watercolor

22.86 cm x 30.48 cm

Spring 2020

I focused mainly on contrast and lighting for this painting. I wanted a piece similar to Umbrella Girls medium-wise and that worked with the blue and orange color scheme of the exhibition. I used complementary colors and black pen to make the rest of the painting pop. The girl is surrounded by irises which symbolize hope while she is looking into a bright beam of light, which also represents hope.

Umbrella Girls

22.86 cm x 30.48 cm

Watercolor

Spring 2020

I originally made a piece with these characters in colored pencil, but I redid it in watercolor because I liked the dreamy effect of the color blending together. I focused mostly on character design with this piece and I had to draw them and experiment with defining qualities such as accessories and colors and I also worked on making them more expressive to show they had an emotional connection.

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