It was the first time ever Bangladesh participated at the prestigious Documenta 14 in Kassel, Germany with the support of Bengal Foundation. The Bangladesh entry featured works of pioneer Modernist artist of Bangladesh Zainul Abedin (1914-1976), and of contemporary film-maker and writer Naeem Mohaiemen (b. 1969) that propose different perspectives on the recent history of the country and the region of Bengal. Contributing to the unprecedented participation of two Bangladeshi artists from different generations to Documenta, Bengal Foundation wishes to reaffirms its support to both the Modernist heritage and the contemporary artistic creation of the country.

Zainul Abedin's famed Famine Series powerfully captures the tragic and often overlooked episode of the Bengal famine of 1943, during which an estimated 2-million people died while the British colonial government was at war. Two ink drawings of the Famine Series belonging to the private collection of Abul Khair (Chairman, Bengal Foundation) are presented to the international audience for the first time. “Showing Abedin and other Bengal School artists who have dealt with the Famine history will not only raise the attention to their artistic oeuvre, but also provide a deeper understanding of a pivotal moment in Modern history and Europe's colonial legacy” writes Documenta 14 Artistic Director Adam Szymczyk. The contextualization of these works from the early 1940's in the exhibition resonates transversally with the complex history of the World War and the regime of austerity, violence and oppression it reinforced in the various parts of the world then occupied as colonies.

Naeem Mohaiemen's "Two Meetings and a Funeral" (2017) is a three-channel film about Bangladesh's historical pivot between the 1973 Non Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting in Algeria, and its' ideological opponent, the 1974 Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) meeting in Lahore. Centring the country's navigation of these two meetings while it fought for UN recognition (vetoed by China as proxy for Pakistan), the project considers the erosion of the idea of the Third World as a potential space for de-colonialism, liberation theology, and socialism. The film was co-commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation and JustFilms/Ford Foundation. It is supported by Arts Council England, Tensta Konsthall (Sweden), and Bengal Foundation.

About Documenta: Documenta is an art exhibition which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by Arnold Bode in 1955 in an attempt to assert the importance of avant-garde and experimental art in Western Europe. The exhibition is considered to be an art event of global significance. See www.documenta14.de for more information.