Nasir Ali Mamun's “The Poet with Camera” opens at Chobi Mela
Nasir Ali Mamun is the pioneer portrait photographer of Bangladesh. Born on 1st July 1953 in Dhaka, he has captivated viewers with his iconic portraits for almost five decades, and is said to have made history with his camera. He and pioneer female photographer Sayeeda Kanam have been declared as the Lifetime Achievement recipients at the ninth edition of Chobi Mela 2017 held from February 3. The organisers of Chobi Mela IX formally conferred awards on them at the opening ceremony yesterday at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA).
In a candid conversation with Nasir Ali Mamun on that day at BSA, the visual artist gave a tour around the exhibition. It was a wonderful experience as he elaborated on the exhibited photos with the exact date and time.
“The Poet with Camera” is the title of the exhibition that displays 42 works at Gallery 4 of National Art Gallery Plaza of BSA. This is a limited edition of Mamun's first decade's (1972-1982) works. A wall of the gallery has been dedicated to Mamun who shared memorable moments with eminent personalities like Mother Teresa, National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Mawlana Bhashani, Palli Kabi Jasimuddin, artist SM Sultan, Subhash Mukhopadhyay, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Quamrul Hassan, Professor Qazi Motahar Hossain, Oscar winning director Shekhar Kapoor, Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, singer Bhupen Hazarika, Russian poet Evgeniy Yavtushenko and others. The wall also showcases Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus's sketched depiction of Mamun's camera, Mamun with his first camera, his first solo exhibit at Bangla Academy, a letter to Mamun by litterateur Selina Hossain and Mamun's portraits and paintings by legendary SM Sultan, Jogen Chowdhury, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Quamrul Hassan and others.
There are many other historic and momentous images on display at the gallery. They include a unique image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, ASM Abdur Rob, Poets -- Ahsan Habib, Shamsur Rahman, Syed Shamsul Haq, Al Mahmud, classical vocalist Ustad Gul Mohammad, Professor Mohammad Yunus, legendary musician Samar Das, artist Hamidur Rahmn, Khan Mohammad Moinuddin, a fabulous image of actor Golam Mustafa, actress Subarna Mustafa, Abdul Hafiz and Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua and others.
No addition, editing and cropping have been done in the displayed photos, according to Mamun. There are several portraits and self portraits of Nasir Ali Mamun at the show. There is another great image of Ustad Bahadur Hossain Khan, Poet Shamsur Rahman and Nasir Ali Mamun.
There are several rare images of S M Sultan. Mamun has a close connection with the maestro. “His unique lifestyle and such a simple and candid soul is rare to find in the entire subcontinent. Such an artist is unmatched with others in the world. Sultan's paintings give a feeling of bird's eye view. He observed the society, agricultural civilisation of Bengal well. So a vastness is noticeable in his paintings. The background, foreground and middle composition of Sultan's painting have many things to delineate. He prominently upheld the agro-based civilisation in his paintings. I am deeply mesmerised and motivated by his personality, artistic thoughts and creations by Sultan,” said Nasir Ali Mamun.
The soft spoken and modest Mamun is also considered to be “The Poet of Camera” for his creativity and capturing the times and towering personalities.
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