Catalogue / Shakibul Islam
Shakibul Islam
Blue
A blue wall, a mound of earth, a man walking past
The wall is the blue of washing water left in a bucket.
A white cloth and a blue cloth hang still in the heat.
The earth is piled high, soft as flour.
Banana leaves open like hands above the roof.
A man walks barefoot through green shade with a dark vessel at his side.
The sky is only paper, left alone.
The work
Blue is a watercolour on paper from 2021. It measures 38.1 × 27.94 cm. Shakibul Islam paints a small hut with a tiled roof under tall trees and banana leaves. Its wall is a cool, clear blue. Cloth hangs along the side to dry. A mound of earth rises in front. A barefoot man walks past it with a dark round vessel. The white paper is left open in the sky. Islam works mostly in oil, acrylic and gouache. Here his colour is soft and still.
- Theme
- A home among trees
- Material
- Watercolour on paper
- Size
- 38.1 × 27.94 cm
- Year
- 2021
- Edition
- 1
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- Sir J. J. School of Art, Architecture and Design, Mumbai
- From
- Mumbai
- Code
- RC-657
- @realshakibulislam
In the artist’s words
My practice operates at the intersection of identity formation, corporeality, and sociocultural regulation, with a sustained focus on queerness as both lived experience and critical framework. I grew up within patriarchal and homophobic environments, where I observed how queer bodies are celebrated in ritual yet ridiculed in daily life. These early experiences of bullying, exclusion, and performative inclusion continue to inform my work. My first painting on LGBTQIA+ identity was made during my BFA, responding to a mythological assignment through the story of Swami Ayyappa and queer adoption rights in the Indian Constitution. Since then, my work has expanded to address personal experience, rights, intimacy, and the social position of…
Meet the artist
