Dilara Begum Jolly's paintings are explosions on canvas. Jolly is at the same time a print artist, a sculptor, an installation artist, and a painter. Her thick, dense strokes of vibrant colors give the effect of multi-layered tapestry. In fact, one never finds an empty space on her canvas, a trait of her works that although undoubtedly draws a viewer in, yet leaves them suffocated and squirming with discomfort. Hence, it is not easy to spot the woman hidden behind the scenes on her canvas – the woman who paints pictures of construction and destruction on the same plane. Her extravagant colors and strong lines do not reflect delight but actually camouflage the passionate wails of an artist who is on the verge of bursting out in anger and condemnation. Her paintings are not about one isolated story, but are exposures of a dialogue between different occurrences and emotions. Death and damage are dominant ingredients of her works expressed through a blend of fantasy and symbolism. Jolly is seen waging a war against the injustices and cruelties of the contemporary capitalist world. Her rendition of the plight of womanhood – of the responsibility and the strain of nurturing life – is so powerful that it makes one feel the heat of shame and guilt. Nevertheless she does not advocate cynicism, rather, as the lotus that blooms among the debris of destruction in her paintings, Jolly is hopeful of the promises and the force of life.