Md. Fazla Rabbi Fatiq

After having the audience look at the work freely, everyone gathered in the community space, where Fatiq showed photo slides to describe how he developed his art. He explained that he sourced discarded materials from local markets and irregular vegetables in Fukuoka for his new artwork, which brought challenges that helped him improve his skills and encouraged growth as an artist.

Fatiq exhibited অবচিহ্ন (Traceless) / Trace.
Photo by Kawasaki Ittoku

Fatiq visited Prof. Sim Woo Hyeon of Kyushu Sangyo University, Zokei Junior College of Art and Design for the second time. To make large sized photograph, Fatiq asked Prof. Shim about printing his photographs and making the frames. He received advice from many different perspectives, including an alternative of the frame in case it is difficult to prepare.

On this day, Fatiq visited a shop called Tenryu, where they sell raw fish and other fresh seafood for commercial use. There, he had the opportunity to learn about and look at some rarely seen fish parts that are typically removed before displayed for sale.

Artists were invited to join a gallery tour of the exhibition Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Best Collection Ⅲ Breaking the Conventional: New Self-Portraits, organized by the museum guide volunteers. After the tour, they joined a gathering where participants brought in food and enjoyed a casual conversation.

The tour began from Hakata-machiya Furusato-kan, a small museum that introduces the history and culture of Hakata, including local life and landscape especially in the Meiji and Taisho eras, along with the crafts of artisans. Next place Fatiq visited was the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum, which works as a station to address the importance of peace. The last destination was the Kyosei-no-sato museum, located inside a renovated building of an old school in a rural area. There, Fatiq met Yanagi Kazunobu, an art director, and Oto Etsuko, a fashion designer and manager, both of whom guided the artists with detailed explanations.

The next day, Fatiq visited Gambariyasan farm, run by users of a local day care center, Ganbariya-san.

Fatiq visited a farm run by PIETRO Co., Ltd. There, he saw “kimagure yasai,” vegetables with irregular shapes and sizes, which made him think about the cycles of food production and farming.

During the talk, Fatiq introduced his previous works, including those he shot at home during the COVID-19 quarantine, as well as other projects contrasting popular tourist destinations with low-wage workers, and a series portraying abandoned architecture due to the halt of development projects. He told that he plans to make a new artwork combining photographs taken in Bangladesh and Fukuoka, themed on food.

With the help from Prof. Sim Woo Hyeon of Kyushu Sangyo University, Zokei Junior College of Art and Design, Fatiq set up the shooting tools in his studio.

Artists took time to see the collection show as well as some backyard facilities including the reference library, storage, archive, and shooting room, where they were given some detailed explanations from each appointed staff.

Fatiq met some museum staff and coordinators for the first time. After the orientation meeting and a guided tour in the museum, Fatiq biked around the area with other artists nearby Artist Cafe Fukuoka.