Syed Iqbal: A Long Days Journey by Robert J. Lewis, Artticle 10 in 15/2 of Montreal Serai

Syed Iqbal: A Long Day's Journey
Robert J. Lewis

His art has been exhibited in the prestigious Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, he has published 3 novels and several books of short stories, has illustrated many children’s books. In 1990 he was awarded the prize for best illustrator by the Bangladesh National Book Center. He has published 100ds of cartoons in his country’s newspapers, has been the guest of honor at Bangladesh’s political establishment, and enjoys national celebrity status. But all of this came to an abrupt end when he left his country in 1994, and came to America, finally settling in Montreal, Canada.

Like a foreign doctor whose accreditation isn’t recognized outside his country, Syed Iqbal’s art has not been recognized in his new homeland, Canada. Hauling his paintings from one gallery to another only to meet with rejection after rejection, Syed could have never imagined that he would find himself begging for gallery space in the land of plenty. He finally awoke from the nightmare he had been living for 7 years – with the exception of 3 solo exhibitions -- when the Shayne Gallery) invited him to exhibit his work from his most recent series, Tears of Nature, a protest against the ‘butchering of nature by mindless acts of civilization.’

I interviewed Syed Iqbal, a man of remarkable candor, humility and sensitivity, in the sparsely furnished office of a friend. The trials of the past 7 years have left their mark on his erstwhile smooth and handsome features, an artist for whom remembrances of times gone-by have become synonymous with loss.

MONTREAL SERAI: Why do you paint?

SYED IQBAL: I have to paint, to express my life, my feelings, my emotions, my desire, my hatred, my fears. I can also do this through writing, but painting is my first choice.

MS: Your Father never approved of your decision to become an artist. How did this affect you?

SYED IQBAL: My Father wanted me to become a doctor or engineer, and he was uncompromising. I was therefore obliged to leave home at the age of 20. The early years were very difficult, marked by excess and self-abuse. I encountered a cold and indifferent world outside of my home, and without family support – it was sometimes unbearable. For many years I resented, even hated my Father, his attempt to rule my life. Only at the very end, when he was dying of cancer, did he realize he made a big mistake. By then, of course, it was too late. I forgave him, but the ache will never go away; he could have been with me all of these years. I think it is a universal law that we always want to please our parents.

MS: After enjoying great success in your home country, what was it like coming to America and not receiving recognition for your art?

SYED IQBAL: It was a painful, humiliating experience, which I hope is behind me now. At first I didn’t understand it, because my art has nothing to do with Bangladesh. It’s very abstract, very universal, it could come from anywhere. But then several years passed and strange thoughts came into my mind: I began to wonder if my work was being rejected because of the color of my skin, or my heavy accent. And then I began to wonder how this experience was affecting my teenage daughter, whom I did not want to expose to my low self-esteem.

MS: Did you begin to doubt your abilities?

SYED IQBAL: Thank God, never. I never doubted my ability. That would have been the end of me.

MS: The principle of Eros plays a major role in your art.

SYED IQBAL: And also my life. When I was a very young boy I realized that I was different: my friends wanted to play soccer, I wanted to paint. But it wasn’t easy being different, and since I can remember I have been very vulnerable to deep depression. As I grew older, I found relief and escape in the company of women. Sometimes, just being in the presence of a beautiful woman, who need not even be aware of me, is sufficient to alter my mood and bring me back to life. Of course, this weakness has been very difficult on my family; but I have never lost sight of the fact that my wife and child are my anchors in life, as they have come to understand my artistic temperament. My wife has on many occasions saved me from myself. In fact I would have probably succumbed to alcohol and drugs if I hadn’t met her when I was younger and quite out of control.

MS: As I look at the whole of your artistic output, I notice you are gradually abandoning figurative painting for abstract. Is this deliberate on your part?

SYED IQBAL: I have never set out to become an abstract painter. What I have been discovering over my career is that painting things has not brought me any closer to them. That is why I had to stop copying them because I realized that these things themselves are barriers to what they really are, to what is behind them. I know this must sound strange, but only through abstract art am I able to capture the smell of something, or the suffering in someone’s work shoes. If I decide, for example, to paint an apple, as an artist I have to become an ant so I experience how the surface and skin of the apple feel, and then I have to become a microbe and penetrate the apple in order to come out dripping of apple. Only then will I be able to capture the essence, or smell, or gift of what an apple is. But I haven’t completely abandoned figurative painting: in some of my abstracts there are hints of recognizable things that can be symbolic.

MS: On a more personal note, does it bother you that your daughter is losing her heritage, is becoming Canadianized?

SYED IQBAL: It bothers me that one day soon my daughter will come to look at me as a stranger – someone from the old country. We sort of joke about it now: she listens to Rap while I listen to Raga but only one of us is amused.

Canada is a unique place that is constantly changing and absorbing new influences. I believe my daughter is leaving something positive of her culture here as she is being transformed by what is already established. So far, I have no reason to complain or regret my decision. I came to Canada to provide her with more opportunity and to try to establish myself as a painter. I have learned to be thankful for the smallest pleasures and successes in life. My daughter doesn’t want to return which means she is happy here – and that makes me happy.

MS: Why did you decide to settle in Canada instead of the United States.

SYED IQBAL: It’s easier to assimilate in Canada. And I believe there are more opportunities here. The melting pot is a myth in the United States: it takes many generations for some immigrants to feel like Americans. In Canada, it happens much faster.

MS: I wish you all the best, Syed Iqbal. Tennessee Williams would designate you as one of the good guys. May your tribe increase.