Page 468 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

PHOTOGRAPHY 465

transformation not a reproduction’ is to be remembered in this regard. Photography is
power, is an art. Great photography can enlighten a person, society and nation.
8.0 Foreign Photographers and their Work
Many foreign photographers have come to Bangladesh at different times and
photographed different subjects. Their artistic wisdom, distinctive ways of presentation
and statements have added a different trend in the photography of Bangladesh.
German photographer Claus-Dieter Brauns did some research based photography on
the indigenous Mru community. The important book on photography Mru: Hill People
on the Border of Bangladesh (1986) was published as fruit of the research. Trygve
Bolstad, the Norwegian photographer, traveled through different parts of the country
from 1988 to 1991 and did documentary photography on boats and boat-centered life.
In 1992 a book entitled Sailing against the Wind was published with his photographs.
French photographer Frank Lincet worked on the bamboo rafts of Bangladesh for the
Geo magazine in 1993. The Japanese photographer Yasuhiro Takami (1967- )
portrayed the way of life, culture and the context of the growth of various
development activities that have transformed the lives of the Garo community of
Bangladesh from 1991. Manderangni Jagring, Images of the Garos in Bangladesh
(1999) is the book published on his photographs. Jon Warren did photographic
documentation on the weavers of Bangladesh scattered all over Bangladesh, their life
and work in the social and economical context. His book Tanti Handloom in
Bangladesh (1989) is a compilation of the way of life, weaving tradition and the
various activities of weavers in photography. The indigenous Garo, Manipuri,
Rakhaine people’s weaving centered activities have also featured in the book.
Photographer Dirk R. France photographed the nature, life and culture of Bangladesh
for a prolonged period. The exhibition and publication titled Bangladesh: Images and
Impression in 2001 featured a people vibrant in their way of life and a beautiful nature
in opposition to natural disasters, poverty, etc. Gilles Saussier (1965- ) has rendered
the marginalized people living on the coastal belt, haors or rising land of the rivers
(char) in a different perspective. In his album Living in the Fringe (1998) he has
created some close-up portraits of char dwellers with various associated elements of fig. 10.47 Karaboudjan,
chars and char living embracing the entirety of life. These portraits, the clothing or photograph Bruno Ruhf,
the lines and forms spread out around the persons gives an indication of the geo- © Bruno Ruhf
physical map of the vast char areas as
well as being of metaphorical and
symbolical significance (fig. 10.48). 112
Gilles Saussier has not represented a
people endangered by natural disasters
but a people resilient and existent in
the flow of life. Earlier in 1997 he had
an exhibition entitled ‘Dhakar Bhitare
Dhaka’ on the life of people of Old
Dhaka with artistic photographs with a
different dimension and expressive