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Artist Abdul Aziz holds his 4th solo art exhibition titled ‘Oriental Art Exhibition’ in Gallery Zoom at Alliance Française in Dhanmondi.
   Seventeen of his paintings reflecting the oriental life are being exhibited in the gallery. The exhibition began in June 19 will continue to July 2. It will remain open to all from 9:00am to 12:00pm and 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
   Abdul Aziz has chosen women, nature and birds as subjects of his paintings to open up the orient psyche and culture because he believes that women tells the story of the orient best. He also mentions that women have always played a role in upholding the true culture of particular societies; their dresses, ornaments, gestures and postures, all are very distinguished and unique.
   In the paintings the artist has portrayed the harmonious relationship among women, birds and nature. He tries to give an insight to the orient by revealing the moments of solitude in women’s life and their connection with the nature. Some of his paintings are titled, ‘Mirror with lady’, ‘Nature with woman’, ‘Lady with bird’, ‘Fallen’ etc. In the paintings one will find how a woman nurtures the beauty of nature within herself or how she wears nature as an ornament and also, how she shares her solitude with a bird or how the nature tells the story of the beauty of orient and so on.
   Abdul Aziz explains that oriental art is realistic and very detailed and it takes time and patience to create them. All the paintings of this exhibition are made using watercolour in ‘wash’ method. The artist says, ‘There is not many quality artists for oriental art in the country, I have arranged this exhibition in order to uphold and enhance the level of appreciation for this particular form of art’. Though oriental art emphasises on detailed drawing, Abdul Aziz has experimentally used some semi-abstract forms in some of his paintings which add a new dimension to his works.
   Abdul Aziz is going to exhibit more of his paintings later this year in his fifth solo exhibition which will be based on the same theme. The venue for his next exhibition will be Zainul Gallery of Institute of Fine Art of the University of Dhaka.
   The artist also participated in several group exhibitions in and outside the country including India and UK. At present he is working as the Assistant Professor in the Institute of Fine Art, University of Dhaka.

The ultimate pageant of beauty and brains –– Pantene You Got the Look –– is back for the 2008 edition.
   The call for entries has begun already. Entry forms are available at the lifestyle outlets.
   A lot of young people have registered and more are joining the fray everyday. The last date for applications is July 2.
   Online registration is also open at www.bangladeshinfo.com, said a press release.
   Proctor and Gamble in association with Gallery Apex, Herbal Solution Spa and Beauty Studio www.bangladeshinfo.com will sponsor the competition with Radio Foorti as online partner.
   Once the event starts, a painstaking selection process will shortlist ten female and ten male participants for the final.
   These participants would then begin on a three-week grooming period under the guidance of various experts
   for beauty and hair styling, fitness, ramp choreography, stage presence and presentation skills.
   Xiya will be in charge for grooming and choreography for this event.
   Bigger, better and with more event based activities, this year’s Pantene YGTL promises to be a grand exhibition of talent, beauty and self-confidence.
   Grey Worldwide will manage this year’s Pantene YGTL.

The MTV Video Music Awards, scene of a disastrous performance by Britney Spears last year, will return to Los Angeles for the first time in a decade on September 7, the lifestyle cable network said on Monday.
   The high-wattage event, now in its 25th year, will take place on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood, and will air on the channel that evening.
   Los Angeles last hosted the event in 1998. Since then, the awards have been held mostly in New York, but traveled to Miami in 2004 and 2005, and then Las Vegas last year.
   MTV said this year’s ceremony would use the city streets, rooftops, and sound stages all over the Paramount lot. The host, performers, nominees, and presenters will be announced at a later date. MTV and Paramount are units of Viacom Inc.
   Last year, 7.1 million MTV viewers watched the festivities, according to Nielsen Media Research.
   Spears, embarking on a comeback of sorts, was ridiculed for dressing as a stripper and badly lip-synching her way through her new single. Jaws dropped among mystified stars in the audience.
   While viewer ship was up from 5.8 million the year before, the numbers are a far cry from the record 12 million viewers for the 1999 version.