In quest of eternal moments
Dr Noazesh Ahmed's exhibition
Fayza Haq
In Dr Noazesh Ahmed's recent exhibit "Quest for Harmony" at the Bengal Gallery we see 100 photographs spanning six decades. For the first time Noazesh Ahmed has tried to depict all his works from 1947 to 2005. "I have included my experience in the American campus life. I have also brought in the delineation of Chinnapatra and the Dhanshiri poems of Jibonanondo Das. Over 50 percent of the photographs are new. My subject always deals with forms, patterns and the drama of man and his environment. On the way I have dealt with the spiritual as when I've depicted the life of Buddhist priests. These are combined with pictures of Shantiniketan."As we use digital print the print quality in this exhibition is better. I did some black and white earlier but I think colour suits my subjects best. The best of painters like Renoir and Monet used colour, so colour suits me fine too. At one time black and white was the only medium for photographs. I drew my inspiration from Gordon Parks, Ansell Adams, Elphinson Eliot, Edward Weston, Ernest Hass and David Hamilton. How can you depict Jibonanondo Das's words 'Akash chorie ache neel hoeye, akashey akashey' without certain shades of blue?" questions Dr Noazesh. His favourite photographs include the boatmen pulling the boat against the current. While the clouds move in the picture in one direction, the river moves in another. Another is a black and white composition with a flower vase and venetian blinds. This goes back to his youth and campus days as also does the photo where the father and son are seen through two balustrades. There is then a piece from the Wall series in which the focus is on the lichen covered wall with creepers hanging from them. The kashondi seller with his pile of cooking vessels on his head comes into focus next. There is then the photo of two villagers, where one is seen through the outstretched legs of another. Patterns made by the plough on the soil is the subject of another stirring picture. Swirls of coloured saris put out to dry also create a mind-stirring composition. A flower bud that is partially open also moves the viewer. Another photograph is an expanse of blue with the top of a coconut tree on the lower end and a bird flying high to the top right corner. This has been inspired by Jibonanondo Das's verse about nature and its vast expanse of the skies. In a photo montage we get the face of a woman encircling lines from ancient architecture. 'Chul tar kobey kar ondhokar bidhishar nishar' is the line that inspires this. There are pictures too to commemorate the Hiroshima disaster in Japan. There is a child depicted in one of the pictures as if bursting out of a coffin, saying "Let me live". Dr Noazesh Ahmed has over 15 photo exhibitions to his credit. He has brought out eight photo albums, including Portrait of Bangladesh and On the Banks of Dhanshiri River. He has bagged three awards, including the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Award, 1st National Photographic Exhibition.
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