Aminul Haque: Through spontaneous rhythm, colour and form

The virtual rhythmic movements through subtle colours, translating lucid poetry through visual imagery that enthrals the viewer as he moves from one expression to another, is Aminul Haque’s reflection from life, expressed through simple form and content.

My attachment to a veteran’s enormous spontaneous creativity that revealed the obsession of an independent mind and his poetic thoughts as I got the opportunity to focus my camera to record the expressions in the varied sizes of canvas and themes, for his exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi from11 to17 February 2017, and I dared to write my experience for his catalogue.

My association with Aminul Haque, and Dr. Nilima has been over four decades, and I have had the opportunity to see the immense creativity that the couple revealed through literature and Visual Arts. Aminul Haque’s contribution to Contemporary Art of Assam is significant as an ‘Art Guru’ and also as a founder member of the Gauhati Artists’ Guild is worth mentioning. Aminul Haque’s paintings are naive with less scholastic connotations, thus they are fantastically rich and vibrant in appeal. His choice in application of a not so wide a palette of colours, inter mingling the primary and secondary colours, often to create an overall outcome, which display a very spontaneous outburst of the natural poetic brilliance on his canvasses. His paintings evolve around simple situations in day-to- day life experiences that the artist is much attached to, in all form and hues. His paintings often draws some resemblances to that of M. F. Hussain and the style of Picasso, when we perceive that he loves to play with the basic geometrical forms. His themes draws very innate references to his roots, his observations of life richly connected to his inherent relation to people around him, and the modest narrative style hence evolved in his canvasses brings the viewer very close to the Artist’s experiences from the recollection of his childhood memories, and his connectivity with creativity, fanned by the milieu.

Aminul Haque’s paintings are of diverse sizes and his adaptability to Acrylic is often resounded by his love for water colour. His themes are genuinely connected to his roots. Surprisingly there are few instances when he tried to experiment with a change in beliefs…! Not quite often though, it was very refreshing to see an offbeat representation when he portrayed the ‘Ganesha’ beautifully collaged with the elephant, and in another depicting the fervor of festivity rendering the ‘Durga’ as the center of his imagery expressed in the small canvas.

Most of his painting have myriad virtual circular movements often dominating his images, and the adding of the strong circular movements to the form, often create a discrete space for his independent visual idioms. Often these virtual circular movements complements flavor to his central theme. His paintings often take the viewer closure to his poetic expressions, thus creating an illusion for the keen viewer.

His paintings often have multiple frames within a bigger frame of the canvas, giving the feel of animation with the juxtaposing multiple stages and layers to complete the narrative. In doing so, he habitually plays with intricate small spaces for highlighting different stages that demands and plays through his self-composed verses, thereafter bringing out a narrative imagery, illustrated with motion, speed,space and depiction of larger than life of the embodiment of his inner turmoil and life experiences.

Another very significant style that most of his paintings portray is his playing with division of space by application of the basic geometric patterns. Through experiments with colour and frames, he has experimented very comprehensively, the division of his tiny frames that has now extended beyond the single canvas has now displayed a concert of extending canvasses, taking the narratives from one frame to another adding a greater dimension and feeling.

If it is the movement of the green parrot escaping from the cage, and the momentary joy of its freedom and over shadowed by the fear of the pounding cat in the form of a tiger. The arrangement of the parrot all-round the canvas, expresses the stages of its flight and a short plight to freedom. In another painting he narrates the pride owner of a motorcycle to be the king, is a reflection of his inner self. The multiple segments created through virtual circular movements and separation of forms make a very intense visual. In doing so Aminul Haque has probably and intentionally let the form take its own course, often making them voluminous but interesting. Most of his paintings have his own reflections in a bearded man as the protagonist.

In his recent painting, a rickshaw puller, taking a sharp turn around the corner, takes passion to listen to the romance of the couple. The moon in the background suggests the magic of lyricism. The division of space here, is rather spontaneous than calculative.

As, Aminul Haque interprets, that his paintings could lack the technicalities but he enjoys the deep spontaneity in his control over the application of his brush to play with colour and form in his paintings. This is his forte of a satisfying creative freedom that he treasures.

With a supportive ensemble of poetry through music and visual imagery that Aminul Haque enjoys with Dr. Nilima, the artist couple, encompasses looks with endurance and belief to the forth coming exhibition in New Delhi.

I wish both a momentous journey ahead, and all success for the show.

Anutosh Deb

Anutosh Deb graduated in Fine Arts (Applied Arts) from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat in 1989. He works as an Art Educator with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan since 1995. He is also a member of Gauhati Artists' Guild.