Portraits but not Portrait….!
Photograph,mixed media, 2019

Women had their voices muzzled since the dawn of history that was written to serve the dominant culture of power throughout ages. They have been subjected to inhuman tortures in the form of physical mutilation to intellectual suppression. I want to bring to life the stories of eight characters who represent the victims as well as the victors who clinched their emancipation through their various struggles against the monstrosity of patriarchy.

Bio
Born 1960 in Chittagong, Bangladesh, where she lives and works, Dilara Begum Jolly investigates themes of gender, trauma and female body with a varied range of media: after studying painting at the University of Dhaka and the Government Arts College in Chittagong, she widened her practice to include performance, sound, video and photography.
Her works has been exhibited in solo shows at Dhaka Art Summit, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2016; “Celebrated Violence 5: Wound”, Kalakendra, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2015; “Microtears”, Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2015; “Threads of Testimony”, Bengal Art Lounge, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014, among others. She has participated in group exhibitions at Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, Poland, 2018; TS 1, Yangon, Myanmar, 2018; Para Site, Hong Kong, China, 2018; Dhaka art summit, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2018; 3rd Dhaka Art Summit, Samdani Art Foundation , Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2016; Bengal Art Lounge, Art Gwangju , South Korea, 2015; and many others.
In 2002 she was honoured with the Bengal Foundation Award, during the 15th National Art Exhibition, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka. Her work has been acquired by public and private collections such as the Bangladesh National Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (National Art Gallery), Dhaka, Bangladesh; Bengal Foundation, Bangladesh and many others.