Finding Meaning in the Mundane
Photo: Prabir Das
An alley of Old Dhaka; an ordinary rickshaw ride; children playing in the rain; and the little joys and every day celebrations that constitute the rural and urban life of Bangladesh - the exhibition titled Time and Temporality, held at Drik Gallery offered these vivid images and much more.
Aspiring photographer and architect, M M Maksud Biplob and the Facebook photography network, The Moment, arranged a three day exhibition which ended on March 24.
The exhibition does not overwhelm you to look into something extraordinary, but as you go through an array of 138 photographs, you will surely walk out of the gallery with renewed passion for appreciating and documenting the everyday beauty that exists around you.
The title of the exhibition, "Time and Temporality", was a deliberate choice, as the organisers wanted to capture the beauty of everyday moments, and appreciate the magnificence in the mundane.
"Art exists in the simple elements of our life, and if you observe them carefully, you will always be able to see more," says Sadia Arefin, the organiser. "Once we learn to appreciate the beauty in these moments, the most humble day to day activities become the most precious ones."
The response from photographers from all over the country was amazing, says Sadia. "We received around 800 photographs in all, and 138 photographs were selected. The photos at this exhibition were chosen and printed by our sponsor – Paradigm, an organisation that offers integrated design services."
I have 50 photos here, and the rest are from 38 photographers from both home and abroad. Even though so many minds got together for a single endeavour, we all strongly relate to each other in our similar quest to seek the beauty around us," says Biplob, with a smile. "As an architect, composition matters to me the most in my photographs. See the lines and wrinkles on her face with a backdrop of the lost Panam city?" he asks as shows one of his photos. "They represent the experience and memories that people gather as they age." Biplob, a photographic hobbyist, says that he always has his camera with him so that whenever he sees something interesting when he is walking down the road or going somewhere, he can take a picture immediately.
A deliberate focus in finding beauty all around us is another way of finding meaning in the mundane. And photographers of this exhibition have done just that – they captured the little moments that we often neglect or overlook, helping us gain a new appreciation of our everyday lives.
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