THE ART OF RESISTANCE: VISUAL CULTURE, TESTIMONY AND SPACE CREATIVE REPERTOIRE IN THE CHOBBISH (24)'36 JULY' UPRISING

This article examines how artistic resistance had a historical bearing on the unfolding of the dramatic events in the political landscape of Bangladesh during July-August 2024. Like several other resistance movements, the Bangladesh protests have been far from modest and the factors are manifold. It can be debated that various artists had a central and noteworthy part in shaping the resistance and communicating the demands of the protestors. Recently, artists‟ groups and collectives have been dominant in mobilising people together not only in Bangladesh (2024) but also in Sri Lanka (2022) and Hong Kong (2019) and have undoubtedly ushered in resolve and support in the congregation and demonstration for the uprising through cultural activism. Through a literature analysis, this study draws from a historical context the intersections of art and resistance in political and social movements across the globe and the transformations resulting in mobilisation, for instance, the Arab uprising, the Hong Kong umbrella protests, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Firstly, it looks at the perspective of trauma discourse and the production of resistance art and visual expressions by analysing the posters and graffiti used in the July protests. Second, it reflects upon spaces (Lefebvre) in resistance and examines how they emerged and challenged many aspects of the existing social order, focusing on “the wall as a space of resistance” in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This paper offers a vital contribution to understanding the intertwining of art in resistance through a spatial lens and trauma discourse in visual testimony since the trajectory of a resistance movement from its inner emotional core is as important as its outer spatial one. Keywords: Art, resistance, visual testimony, graffiti, July uprising, cultural testimony, space