Fragments of the Anthropocene’, an exhibition of installations, drawings, paintings and video-works by Shimul Saha and Zihan Karim, is on view at Bengal Art Lounge until Saturday, 27 February 2016.

Coined at the turn of the 21st century, the term ‘anthropocene’ designates a new geological era defined by the impact of human activity, such as land reclamation or large-scale urbanisation, on Earth’s systems and processes, says a press release.

The exhibition showcases two young artist’s take on this phenomenon and its particular resonance in today’s Bangladesh.

Both born in the early eighties, Shimul Saha and Zihan Karim have lived most of their lives in Dhaka and Chittagong respectively, two sprawling urban areas which have profoundly influenced their art practices. Their anthropocene is an age in which the individual is confronted with loss: loss of vitality through debilitating diseases, loss of heritage through the incessant transformation of the cityscape, and loss of creativity to conform to aggressive social norms induced by urbanization. Far from being resigned or nostalgic, Saha and Karim treat these issues with sensibility or scathing irony to deliver a powerful understanding of the age they live in.

The exhibition is open from 12 noon-8pm until 27 February.