17-year-old Bangladeshi student Opshori Nondona writes about the strong women who raised her and their influence on her art.

The product of three generations of female artists, I grew up surrounded by art.

Led by my nani (which is maternal grandma in Bangla), our family has always used creative means to express our thoughts and imaginations. Nani was a sculptor, my mother is a 3D painter, my aunt was a painter — and my sister and I are now continuing the tradition with our own art. Being surrounded by so many female artists helped me learn about different art forms and understand different points of view.

Opshori’s maternal grandmother, Ferdousi Priyabhashini, was a prominent sculptor who worked with found objects like drifted woods, trees from nature. (Courtesy of Opshori Nondona)

Growing up, I’d go with my family to art exhibitions and we’d spend time every weekend at Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts campus, known as Charukola. But the art experience I’d look forward to the most every week was visiting my grandma. My nani, Ferdousi Priyabhashini, was a prominent sculptor. She used to work with found objects like drifted woods, trees from nature. I loved her company as being with her connected me to my roots. She never taught me how she worked; I just observed her expressing herself. Each visit to her was its own journey of self-discovery for me.

My grandma was a Birangona — a war heroine — and a freedom fighter. She was brutally tortured and raped by the Pakistani army officers during our Liberation War in 1971. After the war, most of society ignored her contributions, so she found her peace in nature. Nani felt that those drifted woods, trees and found objects were as ignored as her — but she saw their beauty. She started creating sculptures with those objects to convey the effervescence of life.

During my visits, I’d just sit beside her at her art studio and watch as she’d create different forms from ordinary objects, like a tree that fell down in a storm. Sometimes me and my sister would bring leaves, rocks and broken branches for her so that she could use them. Every time we showed her what we had brought, her face would light up like a kid in a candy shop. Me and my sister would spend our time drawing or painting while Nani worked on her own art. At Nani’s art exhibitions, I used to roam around and see everything she created. People used to be amazed by how she made it — but I got to see every step of her journey through the creative process.

My mother, Fuleshwary Priyanandini, is an artist as well. Her artwork focuses on 3D paintings of different kinds of windows. She sees windows as a symbol of freedom, inner peace and nostalgia. Many of her windows represent different places in Bangladesh and celebrate our cultural heritage. My aunt, Rajeshwary Priyaranjini, was a painter. She loved representing womanhood in her pieces that were full of vibrant, basic colors. Both of my mother and aunt’s artworks portray freedom of mind and boldness. Their works influenced me to be bold enough to enjoy my freedom, to find my own identity through creativity.

“I’m the strong woman I am today because of the female artists who raised me and shaped me,” says Opshori. (Courtesy of Opshori Nondona)

Inspired by my grandmother and mother, I started doing art from a very young age, working on canvas or wooden canvas with either acrylics or pencils. A theme that recurs in my art is womanhood, due no doubt to the strong female artists who raised me. I often portray Durga — the Hindu goddess of womanhood, courage and power — in my art. I remember visiting the streets of Old Dhaka during Durga puja (one of the biggest festivals of Hindus in Bangladesh) and the energy of Durga puja made me feel so powerful. Though I’m from another religion, I always had a fascination for this festival and Durga represents the strong women in my life. Like my mother and aunt, I love using rich bright colors as they represent boldness. I love highlighting eyes in my works as I believe they express so much. I saw courage in my nani’s eyes. I see boldness in my maa's eyes every day.

One of my favorite pieces I’ve ever created is “The song of tale birds.” It is an acrylic painting on canvas. The birds represent freedom and the woman represents womanhood. I used bright colors to portray strength and express freedom. Birds can fly regardless of any boundary and like those birds, women should have the freedom to fly high with their dreams. The painting was also inspired by traditional Bangladeshi rickshaw art with a mix of my imagination.

Living in a household with a full bunch of artists has been a crazy adventure. An adventure that taught me to express myself and be who I am. I’m the strong woman I am today because of the female artists who raised me and shaped me. They made me a sky so that I can fly — just like those birds from my painting.

Opshori Nondona

(she/her) is a 17-year-old student and food-lover from Bangladesh. She loves meeting new people, writing and learning about new languages and cultures. You can follow her on Instagram.