Posts tagged eyes on bangladesh

Pregnancy Woes

0
10 years
by in Blog posts, Immigration Stories

I found the Eyes on Bangladesh to be a a stunning visual display of a world we would have otherwise never experienced. It’s hard to imagine life that is entirely different than the way we live here in the States, but the exhibit gave us an elegant peak into lives that were quite removed from Western influence. The part that I found most intriguing was the set of photos that documented birth in a small town in Bangladesh. I suppose it surprised me the most because I — quite ignorantly — assumed that all births occurred in hospitals. With our well-endowed hospitals, pregnancy check-ups, and pregnancy books, birth has become a stylized event. These photographs cut through all of that; they portray birth as raw, painful, and dangerous. There is nothing controlled here, and it gives these photos a sense of realness.

This exhibit also reminded me of the overwhelming inequality of the world. So many people live in poverty, without access to basic necessities (such as hospitals, pain medication for the birth, etc), and no one seems to do anything about it. To be completely honest, I don’t know how to approach such disparity. How can we get the supplies impoverished people of other countries need when we can’t take care of our own? The economic divide in this country gets steeper every year, and it seems that the wealthiest do all that is in their power to maintain the status quo. Of what value is our awareness if we are essentially incapable of helping? How can we be the country with a saving-others complex when our Supreme Court has made it even easier to buy elections? Do we even have a voice?

A Closer Look at Bangladesh

0
10 years
by in Immigration Stories

As I waited outside the exhibition venue, it occurred to me that despite my numerous visits to art museums, I did not recall any Bangladeshi photography.

“Eyes on Bangladesh” consists of photographs that serve as gateways for a more personal look at Bangladeshi culture. Behind each photograph is information that gives audiences insight on what Bangladesh is like. For instance, Shumon Ahmed’s rather personal look at his past allowed me to see the lack of health awareness that can be found in Bangladesh. The way that he harassed his ill mother illustrated this lack of awareness rather poignantly.

A particular composition that stood out to me was Jannatul Mawa’s series of photographs of the matriarchs and maids of various households being seated at the same couch. The idea of having a maid is something very bizarre for someone who was raised in New York. However, despite my lack of exposure to such a concept, this series quickly gave me an intimate feel for what the situation is like in Bangladesh. The awkwardness and rigidity seen in an older generation of maids as opposed to the more lax and natural composure seen in a younger one showed that such a black and white concept was changing with the times. Personal stories about servants being yelled at and treated like garbage as opposed to stories about main families providing funds for servant families to go to college helped illustrate opposite ends of the situation.

Ultimately, this exhibition was greatly enhanced by the stories behind the photographs. There are various series that help paint the joys and struggles of the people of Bangladesh, but most importantly and most simply: a picture.

Bangladesh and its Developing, Rich Culture Over Time

0
10 years
by in Immigration Stories

As an immigrant born in Pakistan, which is next to Bangladesh and shares many of its cultural aspects, I found this gallery visit quite relatable. Yet, despite knowing a lot about the general culture, I also saw the country through the eyes of the curator, who depicted a mix of uplifting and depressing images that embodied the essence of the country.

Many of the pictures showcased in the gallery “Eyes on Bangladesh” depicted the culture of the country as unique–full of rich values and of a troublesome past. Bangladesh has many rich features, especially well-depicted in the pictures taken of Dhaka. As seen in many of the photographs, Dhaka is where resides a major Hindu population and where occur many of the Hindu festivals, akin to Christmas in western countries. The curator portrays the joy and rich culture present in Bangladesh, with streets full of people celebrating and performing their own traditions. At the same time, we also see pictures that portray barren and broken-down streets and pictures of people working very hard in factories and sleeping in tightly-packed spaces. They are forced to work in poor conditions, for long hours, similar to the sweatshops in America almost a century ago. There is still much poverty to overcome in Bangladesh, but the gallery shines a positive outlook on this issue. The gallery also shows that Bangladesh had a rich history of conflict and strife: the 1971 split of the former East and West Pakistan into the modern Pakistan and Bangladesh was depicted far more violently than I’d imagined, which again speaks of the rich culture and past of the country.

If we view the gallery in order, starting with the telephone conversation, going around clockwise, and ending with the portraits of people posing as what they most desire, we actually see a very distinct message about Bangladesh. The gallery starts off, mentioning the strifes and struggles that Bangladesh as a country has faced over time, and it also shows how it has overcome struggles and grown into a culturally-diverse country with time. The gallery portrays growth and development of Bangladesh. It shows the past–the revolution. It shows the present–like the cultural custom of having maids. It shows the future prospects–the fact that Bangladesh might go under sea level within a few decades, and that there is major development of buildings. The final selection of works, displaying people dressed up to fulfill their dreams, ends on the positive prospects for Bangladesh’s future. In fact, we can go back full circle, back to the reminiscent work about the artist pondering on the telephone call with his mother, which portrays the message that though the past has been troublesome, the future looks better.

Eyes on Bangladesh Reflection

0
10 years
by in Immigration Stories

The “Eyes on Bangladesh” photography exhibition was an honest and gritty recount of the past and present events that have culminated into the current embodiment of Bangladesh. It is refreshing not to see a minimization of some of the country’s flaws, even if it didn’t outright embrace these imperfections.

The particular photographic series showing the discrepancy between and the dichotomy of treatment of house servants had a very poignant effect on me. The differences in the ways the “servants” and their “masters” presented themselves are a testament to such shortcomings of this somewhat newly formed country. For example the faces of the masters expressed contentment, satisfaction, and serenity—ones that show the enjoyment they have as a result of the way their lives have fallen into place—while on the other hand, the faces of the servants were ones of exhaust, distress, and discomfort with their situation. The story that was related of servants not being able to sit on their master’s couch is allegorical and really is symbolic of a larger problem that is presented in the Bengali culture.

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Another particular photographic series, which appeared to be very sentimental and exemplary of Bangladesh, was the avant-garde art display of the phone call conversation, which takes a stance on mental health awareness. It is very disturbing in this day and age, to see the overwhelming stigma associated with persons afflicted with mental health issues, which certainly hinders the progress should be made in dealing with psychiatric issues. The artwork seemed to be presented in a nostalgic fashion, yet desiring to change the past, but I would also interpret the photographs as presenting something positive in the future.

The final photographic series expresses the sentiments and aspirations of the Bangladeshi people, which parallel the desires and hopes of the country. The curatorial intentions of this exhibit were successful in presenting an accurate depiction of Bangladesh, its people and its challenges.

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From Branches to Roots

1
10 years
by in Blog posts, Immigration Stories

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New York is made up of millions. Millions of people. People who come from different backgrounds. Backgrounds which have unique characteristics. Characteristics which can be portrayed through various forms of art and expression. Expression that lends an eye to another New Yorker who may otherwise remain forever blind to any particular facet of society.

On March 28th, 2014, this society was that of the residents of Bangladesh. Some book long ago told me that Bangladesh had the world’s highest population density, that is, the most people per square kilometer of inhabitable land within the nation’s borders. When the tour guide conveyed to us that Bangladesh had approximately 20 times the population of New York within a similar geographical area as that of New York, I reasoned that if not at the top, it had remained at least in the top 5. Thousands have emigrated to the United States and ‘branched’ out, so to speak, to provide the connection line between those who want to know halfway across the world, to their roots in the opposite hemisphere.

The pictures were striking and left me motionless and speechless for a number of minutes. While I could go on about how certain ones took me to that scene in Bangladesh such as putting me on the beach where the man combed his hair, or in the slum where the woman lay pregnant, or behind the camera of people acting their fantasies, there was something much bigger than that encompassing the experience. The exhibit itself had a story behind it and the entire room became a work of art once we knew the effort behind the project. When opening a gallery, a viewer at random may or may not know the story behind acquiring the real estate, maintaining the building, obtaining the lease, how these financial obligations are fulfilled or any of the troubles and leisures behind them – this was not the case for “Eyes on Bangladesh” and thus it was all the more worthwhile and fulfilling to have been there and experienced it first hand and in person.

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