'Parables' is Bangladesh's first national participation in the International Art Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia. Under the joint commissionership of Fiona Biggiero and Tayeba Begum Lipi, with Mary Angela Schroth and Paolo W. Tamburella as curators, the exhibition features site-specific works by five Dhaka-based artists who draw from their own personal, native symbolism and history to explore universal contemporary political, environmental and social concerns. The title 'Parables' is a twist on the conventional use of the word. Rather than illustrate moral and religious principles, 'parables' are used here to sketch a scene and set a narrative in order to link and compare different cultural concerns and contexts.

This catalogue includes a brief introduction to the history of modern art in Bangladesh, followed by chapters devoted to each of the five participating artists and their work, presenting their oeuvre up to the present. Artists' biographies are included at the back.