Post-traumatic laughter in the age of self-censorship

Months after the exhibition ‘triggered after s*x’, held at Daagi Art Garage from 1 – 8 August 2026, the questions and discussions it sparked still linger. The show looked not so much at contemporary art in Bangladesh, but rather at the challenges faced by artists in capturing and preserving their work in the digital age. Sarridon Collective’s exhibition delved into how social media platforms like Facebook have become crucial for artists to share their creations, yet also pose obstacles to a comprehensive record of their work. The collective’s exploration included how self-censorship often influences artists’ choices of what to share and when to post, leading to a fragmented and often fleeting presence of their art online. This phenomenon, known as post-traumatic laughter, stems from the constant need to update and curate one’s online presence, which can be both liberating and exhausting for artists.