SHOWCASE
/ ARTIST / 2024
| ARTIST: | Istelaillustrated |
| COUNTRY: | Bangladesh |
| CONTACT: |
www.pakadhaka.shop https://www.facebook.com/istelaillustratedthis instagram.com/istelaillustrated |
| I am illustrator based in Dhaka, Bangladesh with a passion for words and colors.I seek out beauty and humor in my city's chaos, and draw from my experience as a girl navigating the city, societal norms, matters for the heart, gut & mind. My mixed media collage work explores the emotional landscapes of distance, memory, and longing—echoing the layered nature of urban life. These pieces are built from fragments: paint, pencil, found paper, xerox transfers, typography, and gestural lines. They mirror how cities—and relationships—hold tension between connection and separation, clarity and blur. Unlike my digital illustration practice, which is often direct and playful, these works are intentionally open-ended, even evasive. They hold space for feelings that can’t be easily explained but are instantly felt: the ache of closeness and emptiness at once, the nostalgic pull of something you can’t name. |
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Water My Plants
Water My Plants- For those who self nourish, self care, hydrate hard, & wont let worldly pressures come in the way no matter how hard society tries to break you. We water our plants, and aim for the moon!
Hard Hat Freedom
Navigating the streets of the South Asian city Dhaka, require grit, a few shoulder shrugs, and plenty of eye rolls. With bulletproof skin and fire inside, sprinkled with ‘mayer doa’ (mother’s prayers), these fearless ladies keep moving no matter what. This artwork salutes the women who boldly embrace who they are and fight for their freedoms even though the society tends to be close minded. They wear their hard hats (in real life or metaphorical) like crowns to keep the noise out.
Fruition
Sometimes hands need to be raised for a little ask, for a little dream to come to fruition. The artwork illustrates the act of manifestation and the believe that good things are in fact on its way.
Letter to my city: Marriage Solution
The 'Letter to my city' is a collage series inspired by letters women anonymously wrote to Dhaka. Excerpt from this particular letter : "The gyno asks me if I am married and the Uber driver asks me if I am Muslim. You are a city which is closed for comfort. The personal is political - one family trauma is reverberating ad infinitum. The microphones never stop crackling with fury, we are handcuffed by angry sermons. Self-liberated but not liberal with the self. We are nineteen going on severity (plus one). "
Letter to my city: Trash Talk
The 'Letter to my city' is a collage series inspired by letters women anonymously wrote to Dhaka city. This particular artwork drew from a letter talking about street harassment in the city and how hard it is for women to exist in public spaces. The letter compared harassers to trash.
Letter to my city: Love Hate
The 'Letter to my city' is a collage series inspired by letters women anonymously wrote to Dhaka city. The writer of the letter this artwork is based on talked about how women feel more comfortable to be themselves when they travel outside of the city/country. How general commuting within the city is full of struggles and discomfort.
Tiger Forest Notebook
The illustration draws from Sunderban, one of the largest mangrove forests in South Asia. While Royal Bengal Tigers rule the land, the illustration portrays deers, mangroves, banana leaves, magpies, waterlilies, and South Asians love for tea.
Magpie Garden/Doyel Bagan
Illustration made for a scarf portraying birds being set free by hands into a garden of banana trees, lilies and love.
Cute & Struggling Greeting Card
Cute & Struggling is part of a greeting card series of gold foil on hand made paper. It's for all the babes and lads going through the grind, hustling day in and out to reach desired destination, but looking cute doing it!BKKIF ARTIST SPECIAL
More Artwork/Merchandise:
74% intense
Collage sketchbooking
Wild Honey
Sketchbook
Trip
Myth Bridge
Opening spread for a book called Myth Bridge showing the lay of the land
Pro Paka Fish Fryer
Tiger Mamas
Demo Crazy
dreams & other desires
Bloated Boo
Dhaka Jam
Poking fun at my city's terrible traffic situation, bottling all elements of a normal Dhaka commute in a jam jar
Sane Tiser
Born out of boredom during pandemic, this poked fun at how we were all using plenty of sanitiser for hygiene, but I wished it would also have helped keep us sane, therefore, Sane-Tiser