XECON UDDIN (BD/FR)
Text written by GHA
Born in Bangladesh and based in France, Xecon Uddin mainly works with graphic prints and experiments with other media such as photography. In his artworks, he explores memories, dreams and identity especially in relation to his status as a refugee and queer artist.
Uddin mainly creates figurative artworks that often depict hybrid humans combined with natural elements. His fantastic surrealist artworks convey his exploration of dreams and memories as well as the layered nature of identity. These three themes are interwoven by his experience as a political LGBTQI refugee and the reminiscence of Bangladesh and Uddin’s cultural roots.
He mainly creates graphic prints and lithography is among his favourite media , which he also used in the series Back to the Roots.These artworks, as well as the series Souvenirs d’Enfance (meaning ‘Childhood Memories’), explore childhood dreams.
Each of his graphics from the “Layers of existence” series harbor an implicit message visible through the transparent multiple layers. Combining the topics of nostalgia and imaginative dreams, the viewer sinks into introspection.
The two series appeal to the viewers’ personal childhood, their imaginative dreams and inventions.In each piece, a human figure occupies a bizarre natural landscape. The playful colours used, combined with the surrealist scenes, guide the audience to recall their personal memories.
The series Trace of Memory still connects to the theme of remembrance but with a more abstract approach, as it stands out for the absence of human figures, normally a shared factor by Uddin’s artworks.
The body is in fact used by Uddin to explore identity and is identified as a site of expression of social conventions. Since arriving in France, Uddin has reflected upon these themes experimenting with photography, a technique he uses in the series Poem of a Queer Soul. His photographs are often self-portraits that integrate natural and surreal elements — common to his prints — and that focus on questions of sexual identity and gender. These artworks explore the relationship with physicality and the notion of normality using sensory perceptions and spiritual reflections to draw attention to social, political and cultural issues related to sexual identity.
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Layers of Existence 1 Poems of a Queer Soul
