Sima Mondal
For Sima Mondal, art is a way of expressing the thoughts and feelings that often remain hidden within us. Born on 8 August 1999 in Gopalganj, Dhaka, she is a Bangladeshi artist who completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Drawing and Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Her paintings reflect her observations of everyday life, her personal experiences, and her curiosity about human nature. Working mainly with acrylic on canvas, Sima uses symbolic figures, layered forms, and expressive colours to bring her thoughts and observations into view.
Sima’s journey as an artist has grown through her interest in the human mind and the emotions people carry within themselves. She often begins with a thought, a feeling, or something she has observed around her. These ideas gradually take shape on the canvas, becoming images that invite viewers to pause and think. Her early works, including The Lakeside, Village View, Rural Serenity, and Flowers, reflect her connection with nature and familiar surroundings.
Over time, her paintings began to explore more complex subjects, including identity, power, death, and the struggles of human life. In Inner Self, Sima explores the scattered thoughts and emotions that make up a person’s private world. Her work Aggression, selected for the 24th National Art Exhibition at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, reflects on the suffering caused by war. Through this painting, she draws attention to the lives lost, the families affected, and the childhoods interrupted by conflict.
Her concern for society also appears in The Evolution of Power, where she examines how the desire for control can shape and damage civilisation.
In Adornment, she questions the habit of judging people by their clothes and outward appearance, reminding us that a person’s real worth lies in their character and values.
Questions about life and death have also become important in her work. In Search of Emptiness explores the human body as a temporary home for the soul, while I See, Yet I Don’t See reflects on how people can look at the world without truly understanding what lies beneath the surface. These paintings reveal Sima’s interest in the difference between what we see and what we understand.
One of the most important moments in her career came with Game of Life, which was selected for the 27th Berger Young Painters’ Art Exhibition. The work earned her a place among the top three artists and the Young Artist Award. Through images of wealth, status, and mortality, she reflects on how easily people become caught up in worldly ambitions despite knowing that life is temporary. Another meaningful work, Creation of Life, explores the bond between mother and child. Having lost her own mother in 2015, Sima approaches this subject through a deeply personal understanding of a mother’s love and sacrifice.
Her painting Structure of Life received the Second-Best Award at the 24th Young Artists’ Art Exhibition at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 2025. Today, Sima is focusing her artistic practice on human experiences and the different aspects of society’s structure. Through her work, she hopes to explore how people live, think, and respond to the world around them.
Drawing inspiration from everyday life and social realities, she continues to develop her ideas through colours, forms, and symbols. Rather than offering fixed answers, she leaves room for viewers to connect with her paintings in their own way. For Sima, every canvas is an opportunity to explore the complexities of human life and understand the society we share.
