I Want People To See Themselves Through Visions Of 'City Life'
Constantly changing, bustling with energy, and filled with contrasts. From the towering skyscrapers to the hidden alleyways –the chaos and intimacy in the everyday moments. This is the theme of City Life, a series of mixed media miniature art installations by the artist Md Saidur Rahman, featured at the QCC Art Gallery at Queensborough Community College, now through November 22, 2024.
“Every year we have talented, outstanding student artists participate in our internship programs,” said Faustino Quintanilla, Executive Director of the QCC Art Gallery, referring to internship programs such as Queensborough’s Art & Design department’s Museum and Gallery studies, the Cultural Homestay International program and local high school partnerships. “But never has a high school student shown me such extraordinary work that has warranted a sole exhibit.”
Md Saidur Rahman (or Rafi), who emigrated with his family from Bangladesh to the U.S. five years ago, is a senior at Flushing International High School. Every year the high school counselor selects two or three art students to participate in a spring internship at the QCC Art Gallery as part of their high school curriculum. Rafi was one of the students accepted for the spring 2024 internship.
“I learned how exhibits are conceptualized, and executed, from layout planning to selecting and arranging works of art,” said Rafi.
“In my exhibit, I wanted to capture the pulse of city life, what makes urban environments so compelling: the blend of cultures, the clash between nature and architecture, and the stories of the people who live, struggle, and thrive within them. Art can serve as a bridge between diverse communities and understanding through visual storytelling.”
His miniatures measure from three to 17 inches wide and five-17 inches deep. Every scene is populated with model characters and every flag, patch of grass, graffiti poster, building and street scene presents a complex and colorful world for visitors to peer into and even bear witness.
In one, a woman is raped as people look the other way. In City Life, vs. Country Life, commuters wait for a train, looking down or away, not interacting. Just an inch or so to the right is someone relaxing on a bench gazing out at the water. A Broken Boat Goes to See New Heights.
Life Among the City’s Homeless is seen under train tracks, Fake Votes and Political Violence of people being beaten on election day. Bloody victims of gang murders lay on the street near a poster of the performer and activist Tupac who was gunned down in 1996.
“Violence, despair, and injustice are not just crises in India but all over the world. We must not lose our humanity.”
Thousands of miles away from what Rafi saw and learned about as a child and young man-- is a new life in Fresh Meadows, Queens. He and his family shop at the nearby fruit and vegetable market and walk in the park.
“There are so many parks in Queens, so much diversity!” he said, adding that he knows life here is not perfect and has problems, some serious. “But watching the beautiful sunrise, the sunset-- coming from a place where the air is so polluted, this is something I do not take for granted.
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