Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Photograph © Samsul Alam Helal
Copyright © Samsul Alam Helal
Copyright © Samsul Alam Helal
Disappearing Roots talks about the displacement of indigenous people in the hill tracts of Bangladesh. The Kaptai Dam was built in 1962 as a hydropower source, and it produces about five percent of the total electricity consumed by Bangladesh. However, its creation displaced over 100,000 indigenous people (70 percent Chakma) and also submerged many homes, including the palace of the Chakma King, which remains buried deep underneath a lake that is currently frequented by tourists. Globally, over ten million people per year are displaced by World Bank development projects (dams and infrastructure projects).
I have used a 'chair' as a symbolic representation of the throne, which travels around the communities; at times the chair sits alone in the landscape, which is constantly under threat by the majority. Through photographs, video and sound, the work is an emphasis on capturing the remaining traces of the ancient ways of life, highlighting the violence of gentrification and the trauma found in submerged symbols of cultural autonomy.
20 November
