Sayeed Siddiqui's ‘Glorious Pixels’

The objects of the photographer's interest are primarily portraits and still life.

“Glorious Pixels”, a photo exhibition by Sayeed Siddiqui, is currently the highlight of a visit to Dhaka Arts Center. The show was inaugurated by Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Minister of Jute and Textiles. Folklorist Dr. Ashraf Siddiqui, poet Belal Chowdhury and physicist Latif Chowdhury lent their weight to the show, adding another layer of prominence. Anwar Hossain, the renowned photo artist, introduced Sayeed Siddiqui's “artistic venture into light and shade through the lens”.
Sayeed Siddiqui is the chairman and designer of Cats Eye.
The exhibition, backed by Team Cats Eye, is spread among four rooms of the Dhaka Art Center. The objects of the photographer's interest are primarily portraits and still life. This is evident by the choice of his subjects in each photograph.
The portraits, each of them, are captivating not because of the beauty displayed but rather due to the imperfections captured. The blemishes themselves are both obscured yet presented, striking a viewer immediately. There are emotions being displayed that are rarely frozen in photographs forever, ranging from happiness to outright distraught. The portraits aren't necessarily of any particular group of people, the photographer opting instead to capture a myriad of characters, from ravishing women, everyday people to artists and beggars. Each frame, then, freezes a different memory, a different emotion and ultimately tells a very different story. Sometimes, the absence of reason makes the still all the more interesting for the viewer. The realism and classical vibe on the photographs are quite cleverly executed adding another dimension to the clarity of the works.
Two more rooms provide a feast of portraits for the eye but the jewel in the crown is to be found in the gallery displaying the still life photos. This is where the artist's genius really comes to the fore, as he crafts mystical and enticing stories out of the mundane. A thin veil of mystery also shrouds Siddiqui's still life images, alluding to concepts present beyond the eye's capability. While on one corner a simple rose bleeds to death, another nook displays a just-struck match while the voice of the artist begs for the flames, knowing the dangers. More pictures depict the purity of white while inviting the secrets of black. There is a constant sense of Yin and Yang and one can have an almost palpable sense of the struggle between good and evil represented by the colours. Apart from that, the most notable feature among these pictures, along with little quotations on the side, is the infectious feeling of melancholy permeating from each. Some also hold morals, like the composition of the wizened soldiers commanding an army of falling young warriors, reminiscent of the old men who start battles while the young suffer from it. While some pictures in this collection arouse curiosity others exude a sense of sadness trailed by a slight hint of hope. The questions these stills bring up are rhetorical in nature and without any correct answer, depending on the perspective of the viewer.
Sayeed Siddiqui's foray into photography isn't exactly unexpected and rather quite welcomed like a breath of fresh air. “The compositions are brilliant and the highlighting is exactly as required,” Farid Hossain, a painter, gushed while enjoying the works. The exhibition concludes on March 4, currently on display at Dhaka Art Center from 3-8 pm everyday.