Eyes on Bangladesh

Eyes of Bangladesh did an amazing job presenting a variety of images all displaying different aspects of the country. Different styles of photography combined with different subjects, such as Old Dhaka, independence, economic classes, and environmental damage, kept the viewer interested at each instillation. The first installation, telling the story of one man’s mother, also helped to keep the exhibit interesting as it incorporated sound and framed its pictures differently.

That being said, I preferred the way that most of the exhibit was presented to this first installation. The absence of frames accentuated the photographs where a frame would have distracted. The use of a frame would distract even more from some of the many smaller photographs that were displayed. This would have directly affected my favorite installation in the exhibit: the second installation about Old Dhaka.

I thought that the many photographs of Old Dhaka provided the viewer a good perspective of the area. The photographs displayed many different scenes from celebration, to shaving, to a child alone in the street. This assortment of subjects made the installation extremely interesting, urging the viewer to look at each image individually rather than the group of photographs as one piece of art. In addition to the subjects, the framing of the images and the fact that they were all in black and white were two aspects of the art that I enjoyed. These characteristics made the images more powerful to me as well as making them interesting to look at. My favorite image was the one of a solitary man with a water basin surrounded by crows. Although it is difficult to understand everything that is going on in this image, it is just an amazing photograph. From the way that it is framed to the positioning of the animals I like everything about this picture.

I thought that the exhibit was well done and well rounded. The different installations had a variety of subjects that anyone could find appealing. It is incredible that it was put together with such a low budget.