1. What is your earliest memory of how or what attracted you to photography?
I was introduced to visuals and images in the 1990s by my elder brother, who was a photographer. I used to see his photographs and they were an inspiration. Also, there was a black & white magazine, published by the Bangladesh Photographic Society, which encouraged me to learn more about the visual media. When I was growing up, we had a poster of a couple running through a storm hanging on the door of our house – I always had the feeling that the poster was pulling me in. At that time, I did not know if it was a photograph or a painting. I recently found out that it is a painting by Pierre-Auguste Cot, entitled The Storm. These were my first impressions of visual media.
2. Please describe what it was like for you studying photography at Pathshala. How has this experience influenced and informed your practice?
Once the founder and former Principal of Pathshala, Shahidul Alam, said that we could utilize the campus in any way we want to – may that be for sleep or for work; that the space was ours to use. Pathshala is the greatest school that I have experienced and one of the most important things that it has taught me is to create my own language, becoming self and be true to that self.
When I joined Pathshala, it was common for photographers to work in black and white. Because of that I too started working in black and white as a student. However, my teacher, Munem Wasif, pushed me to challenge my own thought process. Local and international workshops also helped me to think outside of the box. Slowly, I engaged with color photography and developed my practice including video, sound, and installation.
My experience of studying at Pathshala helped me explore the issues that are of concern to me and what interests me. I became interested in issues related to identity, dreams, longings, and started exploring the psychological realm of these issues to understand the deeper marks they create. My work is an attempt to represent reality in an alternate space and it is the collective experience derived by instincts that help in creating metaphors of the image.
3. If you were to design a photo program for young Bangladeshi photographers, what would it look like?
Most of the recent art graduates from Bangladesh become clueless at the start of their career. So as to provide some direction, I would like to design a course collectively with local and international expertise to train them on how to survive and grow as an artist in the South Asian region.
4. Who or what has inspired you to pursue photography and/or continues to do so?
I take myself to be self-motivated, however having said that, the works and the devotion for the medium by the masters of photography have inspired me, as well. For example, Robert Frank devoted his life to photography, and for him photography was his life; Diane Arbus was always an insider to her subjects, and the dynamic style of William Klein – getting engaged with the moment – is a huge inspiration. I am also enthused by local movie posters, theater plays, and various art practices.
5. Is there a book, exhibition or body of work that has really impressed you and maybe influenced your work / life?
While studying at Pathshala, I saw a book by Robert Frank named The Americans. In that you see the photographs he made of the different classes of people of America, politics, power, and injustice. I was amazed by his visual approach, and even more so by the way he chose to tell stories of that time.
6. What draws / drew you to the subject matter you are pursuing in your current work?
My recent work, Disappearing Roots, is about the displacement of indigenous people in the hill tracks of Bangladesh. I traveled to this region many times, saw and read news and learned how the people here are losing their life, land, and culture. Violence is the regular thing there. Even though the country became independent in 1971, the people living in this region are struggling for their basic citizen rights. Later, on the basis of my experiences, I started to do my research. I ended up not only making images, but also making sound recordings and videos to channel my thoughts. So, to answer the question, the work started as a gut feeling which, on probing further, was enriched by research.
7. Much of your work, for example Runaway Lovers, Open Stage, and Disappearing Roots, appears to focus on the personal belongings and the spaces inhabited by the people you photograph. Can you elaborate on this choice?
Yes, my work becomes, over time, a long relation with the space inhabited by the people I photograph.
Before starting to work on a project, I spend a lot of time in the physical geography, the attempt being to try and understand the houses, the architecture, the lanes and by-lanes, the restaurants, the shops, the tea stalls, the markets, and then, of course, the objects and their shapes and colors. I try to understand the metaphoric journey of the space that would have affected the local peoples’ thoughts. I also talk with people whom I intend to photograph about the work and take their opinions on how they think the work should be, as I want them to feel that it is their inside story. I do not ask them to pose for the final photograph and they use the stage as they wish.
I focus on the personal belongings and the space, as for me it is always important to show the environment. I want to show the connection the people have with the surroundings they inhabit; also, all these details provide more depth to a person’s story.
8. There is an underlying sense of hope in your other bodies of work; however, Disappearing Roots seems to be bereft of this hope and depicts the most violent of representations in your works. Do you believe there is no scope of hope for the Jumma people in this purely utilitarian example of gentrification of the urban centers?
I believe there is no hope for Jumma people as nowadays they are divided into different groups. This makes it even more imperative to revisit what happened in 1962, and to look at the recent development projects in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, as there is a need to be careful with further development. The whole indigenous community is affected and threatened by development issues. We must implement proper plans to safeguard culture, otherwise this too will be destroyed soon. The situation is extremely precarious with the ongoing conflict between Bengali settlers and the indigenous community and people often going missing as a result. Displacement is a very serious issue here, and I do not see any hope of resolution – at least not anytime soon.
9. Do your projects typically run in parallel, or do you focus on one project at a time?
I love to focus and work on one project at a time. I love to research my work in depth and feel the process of image making, which is a collective process with the people I am photographing. I believe that working on more than one project at a time is a distraction for me and ruins the process of creation. Without giving shape to the current project I am working on, I cannot work on other projects.
10. How do you measure success or that a body of work is going well?
While working on a project, my only focus is to give it some form of shape. When I see something evolving, that’s when I am open to discussing the same with some of my close friends and my mentors and even experts on the topic I am working on. From their input, I develop my work further.
11. Do you ever find yourself creatively ‘stuck?’ Is there something that is particularly helpful to you in overcoming this?
While researching on my last project, Disappearing Roots, I discovered that the King’s palace was greatly displaced in the early ’60s, because the old palace had drowned due to construction of a dam. I was searching for a symbol to represent the palace, but couldn’t find a way to do so, and realized that I was stuck. Later, I found an image of the palace on the current King’s Facebook page. From that image, I made a dummy palace, of which I made a conceptual underwater video. To this, I added sound clips from my various travels to these places – of prayers, funeral music, gunshots, etc. So, finding and channeling creativity through other media, and not limiting myself only to photography, helped me overcome this situation.
12. How much effort do you put into getting your work shown? Does showing your work feed your creative process, or does it distract you from it?
For me, it is more important to create work than to show it, though it is important for the work to reach the audience to get honest feedback.
13. Do you feel that there are adequate opportunities and avenues to share / show your work in your home country, or do you always look for such opportunities abroad?
We have a few interesting opportunities to show in Dhaka, such as the Chobi Mela, Dhaka Art Summit, and many local art initiative programs organized by professionals. However, there are hardly any professional art galleries. That’s why Bangladeshi photographers and artists have to put in extra effort to show their work. Sometimes we showcase in internationally recognized platforms, but exhibiting at home is always preferable.
14. We know that creating fine art or documentary photography one does not always earn enough to make a living. Some do commercial work. Others teach. Are there other photography related areas you have found to help you supplement your living – some that you would recommend aspiring photographers might consider?
I have been commissioned by NGOs, worked as a fixer and visual research assistant at the beginning of my career. Currently, I am working on an education program and trying to create space for other emerging artists of Bangladesh. I think, for beginners, it is important to try and work in fields related to their interest such as being a fixer, researcher, or assistant, as that will give them experience in the related field and enhance their skills set.
15. Digital technology has changed photography drastically over the last few years. Did you initially embrace the changes or resist them? Do you believe the changes have been good for the medium or not?
Digital media made photography easy to explore and also made it inexpensive. However, it is analogue photography that makes people more engaged with the medium. Technology made photography easy and available for everyone. But in terms of developing and printing film, the slow process of interaction with the person that you are photographing, which is required in analogue photography, is better.
16. With your years of experience (perhaps not so many), of the lessons you have learned, what is the one thing you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
I started working with mixed media only recently and truly enjoy the way I am able to express myself using this. I wish someone had told me that I could experiment with other media and not restrict myself to only photography.
17. How has it been living through this lockdown period for you in terms of your practice and/or producing work?
I have been occupied with making content for an education program, reading books and researching for a new project that I will begin work on soon.
18. How would an interested collector go about buying your work?
They could get in touch with me directly via eMail (samsul.alam.helal@gmail.com).
19. If you didn’t do photography, what other career might you have pursued?
I don’t know. I have never thought of this before. Maybe I would go for a job like other people, but certainly I would not be as happy as I am today.
Copyright © 2021, PhotoSouthAsia. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © Samsul Alam Helal
20 November
