Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye

b. 1969, Bangladesh; based in Dhaka

As a child born into a large family in northern Bangladesh, the artist frequently witnessed home births, where the only tool available for the procedure was a disinfected razor blade. Later in her life, the razor blade resurfaced as a key object in the artist's work, as she explored the themes of patriarchy and domestic life. In 'Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye', a carefully-crafted steel mattress and pillow seem so soft, they almost invite audiences to lay down on them. Yet the blades expose a domestic world where intimacy is inextricable from violence, danger, and abandonment.