This chapter investigates Bangladeshi art to explore and propose the idea of the ‘Ghost City’—a contradictory depiction of urban perfection that stands in stark contrast to the grim truths of Dhaka’s overcrowded and tumultuous roads. By critically analyzing visual representations, this research explores how idealized and digitally altered visuals of luxury residences and gated neighborhoods, frequently showcased on billboards, continue to reinforce a delusion of ease and security. These ‘Photoshop fantasies’ reflect the hopes of an emerging middle-class population while highlighting the entrenched disparities in power, ownership, taste, and culture that characterize the urban atmosphere in a very classed fashion. More importantly, like in the manipulated visual products, the paintings follow a similar route. By exploring the contrast between the envisioned tranquility of these ‘ghost cities’ and the realities faced by the residents of Dhaka, this chapter provides a complex insight into how art influences and embodies the urban story of Bangladesh.

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The Ghost City in Bangladeshi Paintings

  • Manosh Chowdhury

摘要

This chapter investigates Bangladeshi art to explore and propose the idea of the ‘Ghost City’—a contradictory depiction of urban perfection that stands in stark contrast to the grim truths of Dhaka’s overcrowded and tumultuous roads. By critically analyzing visual representations, this research explores how idealized and digitally altered visuals of luxury residences and gated neighborhoods, frequently showcased on billboards, continue to reinforce a delusion of ease and security. These ‘Photoshop fantasies’ reflect the hopes of an emerging middle-class population while highlighting the entrenched disparities in power, ownership, taste, and culture that characterize the urban atmosphere in a very classed fashion. More importantly, like in the manipulated visual products, the paintings follow a similar route. By exploring the contrast between the envisioned tranquility of these ‘ghost cities’ and the realities faced by the residents of Dhaka, this chapter provides a complex insight into how art influences and embodies the urban story of Bangladesh.