The New Nation - Internet Edition

Art & Culture Report

“Srabon, the photographer presents imperishable childhood incidents, lifetime memories and scenes from nature. He has captured some simple yet priceless moments from different angles. He is struggling hard in search of the purity of art," said eminent artist Hashem Khan about photographs of Srabon Reza at his first solo exhibition titled 'Beyond the Dream' at La Galerie of Alliance Francaise in Dhanmondi in the capital.

The exhibition was inaugurated on June 6 and concluded on June 19. Artist Hashem Khan, eminent photographer Dr Nowazesh Ahamed, Jazques Bounin, Deputy Director of Alliance Francaise, poet Aslam Sani, among others, were present at the inauguration of the exhibition.

Working in the magazine 2000, Srabon has attained recognition both at home and abroad. He said, "I came to Dhaka three years ago. Living in a village in Chittagong, there was not much scope for me to follow a career in arts or media. While visiting my brother in Dhaka, I met Shahadat Parvez of Prothm Alo. He encouraged me to do a basic course in photography by Pathshala in 2001. Next I got involved with the Chittagong Photographic Society and learnt from my seniors."

In his exhibition, Srabon has depicted the joys, sorrows, hopes and despairs of children. He selected the subject as he found children in natural mood. It had not been easy for him to continue his career in photography, as he has to finance himself in Dhaka. Apart from senior photographers, he has studied the works of GMB Akash and Abir Abdullah. Most of the photographs at the exhibition have been shot in the village of Nadimpur in Chittagong. Srabon worked in the mornings and evenings. In the photographs, one saw different scenes such as children playing football on a rainy day, when the sky and the mud appeared green.

There was the image of a young girl covering her face and laughing and it filled one with joy to see such bliss. A child was peeping from behind barbed wires reflected the restrictions that childhood sometimes had to confront.

The seated children on the bridge of a trunk of a tree, playing and teasing each other with the backdrop of the forest, with muddy water below was also a scene of contentment, with children enjoying nature to the fill.