Linear Text of Delirious Time 2
Nisar Hossain
Linear Text of Delirious Time 2 brings together a body of paintings that probe the condition of the contemporary world through a visual language that is at once intense and unstable.
In this series, Hossain renders a moment defined by turbulence, confusion, and delirium—a world that no longer appears to operate according to reason or order. Displaced humans and animals, environmental devastation, international conflicts, and a form of capitalism that steadily consumes ways of life are densely interwoven within a single pictorial field. Figures morph and hybridise: humans transform into animals, while animals assume human traits, enacting seemingly aimless activities that evoke a profound disorientation. These scenes reflect a blurring of identity and rationality characteristic of our present condition. Executed in frenetic lines of acrylic on deep black canvases, the compositions unfold like a vivid yet unsettling spectacle—a chromatic tragedy emerging from within darkness.
Linear Text of Delirious Time 2 is a continuation of the artist’s earlier exhibition of the same title, first presented in 2017. Nearly a decade later, the sense of “delirium” that permeates the global condition has not subsided; rather, it has intensified with striking urgency. The works in this exhibition thus operate as a mirror to the contemporary world—at times extreme, even surreal, yet uncannily aligned with the psychological realities that shape our inner lives.
On view: 4 May – 4 June 2026
Opening reception: Monday 4 May, 18:00 h
Nisar Hossain (b. 1961) is a prominent Bangladeshi artist, academic, and critic. He currently serves as a Professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka. Educated at Dhaka University and Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, his work is recognized for its provocative, socially conscious themes and experimental mixed-media techniques.
