Bangladeshi photographer, writer and activist Shahidul Alam has brought to the city an exhibition of laser etchings on straw and giclee prints that chronicles the life of Kalpana Chakma, a courageous young indigenous woman of Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh.
Twenty years ago, Kalpana dared to demand her rights and spoke out against military occupation and harassment by her country’s Army. She insisted that as a citizen of a free nation she too needed to be treated as an equal.
In response to her demands, she was abducted at gunpoint by the Bangladesh military in the early hours of June 12, 1996. She never returned home. Principal accused Lieutenant Ferdous has never been questioned.
The show, titled “Kalpana’s Warriors” at Gallery Art and Aesthetic in Lado Sarai, is about Kalpana’s life and those connected to her life and ideas. The project consultant of the show is Ina Puri.
Almost two decades after her abduction, Shahidul began working on “Kalpana’s Warriors”.
The exhibition shows images symbolising the conflict, the Kaptai Lake, which led to the displacement of the hill people, the new homes of Bengali settlers, and an old typewriter from the party meeting room as well as symbols of occupation. It also features the last-known photograph of Kalpana, surrounded by words taken from her diary.
The exhibition uses a unique printing technique that does not use conventional photographic media to print. Instead, a straw mat that was part of pahari daily life has been chosen as the canvas. The fire used to raze pahari homes also needed to be represented, so a laser beam was used to burn the straw, etching the images with flames. The show features portraits of those who have continued to question government action.
The show was inaugurated at Drik Gallery in Bangladesh, that was ready to host a show prepared to speak out against the military on the June 12. It was later shown at the Dali Festival in China, where it was awarded the prize for the best exhibit After Delhi, it will travel to Kolkata, London and other cities. It is on at Gallery Art and Aesthetic till March 5.
