The artist gravitates to flowers for their symbolic value. He believes his depictions conjure thoughts of flowers’ various historical contexts—their association with temptation and gardens and their ubiquitous use in still lifes. Simultaneously, these myriad associations diffuse the imagery’s meaning. “Flowers have been used to symbolize almost everything,” Chowdhury says. “I think the images retain all that they have symbolized while also symbolizing nothing.”

Chowdhury repeats various motifs throughout his works, slightly altering them each time. In doing so, he seeks to comment on the transmission and mutability of history. Each time a story is retold, it is subtly transformed. “I don’t believe in history as fact or truth,” Chowdhury says. “For me, history is equal to myth.”