Inside a Café

Khademul Insan

After years of experimenting with fashion, lights, images and colours, Khademul Insan has now come up with an exhibit where

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he intermingled the elements of colour with reflections of the inner self and tried to draw a line with reality. Titled, 'From N on the

streets, 2 words Café Mango', Insan's solo exhibition is currently taking place at Café Mango in Dhanmondi. When Café Mango initially opened up in Dhanmondi, Insan like many others were

struck by its unique sense of lighting, the imagery created by the

architecture and also the idea of combining it with an art gallery. “In café galleries,

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people come to eat, hang out with friends,

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spend some quality time and also enjoy the art work around,” says Insan. Very popular in foreign countries, the concept of a café gallery came up with the advent of Café Mango.

His work in this exhibition is based on two themes Simplicity of a Complex Mind and Odyssey of Self-discovery. In Simplicity of a Complex Mind, Insan captures what he sees around him in Café Mango. The people, the walls, the architecture, both the dimness and the bright shades of light, not to mention the fusing of the colour red and the unique structure

Odyssey of self- discovery-Burning in hell

that one might find in the café. “The Odyssey of Self-discovery was something that I worked for quite

some time,” says Insan. Here he captured the outside world along with him as a part and parcel of the image that he would seize with his lenses, like a first person narrative of a mystery novel or a heart breaking love story. Through his work, Insan showcased the elements of intimacy, working hands, characters and even burning in hell.

A set of 10 photographs, to an average admirer, Insan's work might either seem a little obtuse or filled with the complex geometric figures symbolising the subtle signs of life. However, going in depth, one will see the space created by Insan in each of his work, where Insan took full liberty to free his mind and lay down all the incomplete pieces of puzzles lingering within him for years and finally giving them a comprehensible shape.

Volume 6 Issue 19 | May 18, 2007 |

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