“I cannot work unless I'm sad”

Most of Mamun's portraits are dark, and have a single source of natural light. Photo: ATL AAKASH

“I was born in an 'uncivilised' 20th century family, and started photography in 1972, completely illiterate of the art” -- Nasir Ali Mamun, one of the pioneering figures of Bangladeshi photography, began his 'Artist's Talk' session at the Goethe-Institut in Dhaka on January 31 on a rather dramatic note.
At that time, there were less than 150 cameras in Dhaka, he said, comparing the number to the 2 crore-plus [including camera phones] today. He said that his interest in portrait photography was fuelled by pictures of Bangabandhu and Mawlana Bhashani. The little portraits of them that appeared on booklets or posters were plain and had no flaw; Mamun said that he wanted to take “up front” photos.
It's not easy to take photos of famous people, Mamun said, as he kept on showing his portraits taken between 1972 and '82. It's difficult to keep up with them, and many would “burn out” in their vicinity, but “if they played the sitar or the sarod, I played tabla with them,” Mamun added. It was also hard to know who the important people were, as there were not many forms of recognition back then, in post-Liberation War Bangladesh. So he made a list, showed it to people, and asked them to add names to it.
Mamun said that he first used a camera on March 3, 1968 -- a toy-like non-branded plastic camera -- and had no gear of his own for the first six years. He used to borrow a camera from 'Studio Nihar', from 9pm-8am [when the studio was closed]. He also began stealing international magazines from wealthier households in Dhanmondi, and cut out the pictures to study them.
Talking about his muse, Mamun said, “I invite sorrow. I cannot work unless I am sad.”
Most of his portraits are dark, and have a single source of natural light, because he wanted to depict the unsettled emotions within and the people he photographed, to bring out the talents that were never properly evaluated.
The artist's close association with the portraits were evident, as he remembered years, and in a lot of cases, the dates of taking those photographs. The slideshow began with a few drawings of him made by people -- ranging from Dr. Muhammad Yunus, his son, and SM Sultan. All his portraits of famous people feature low natural lighting, striking expressions -- some candid, some profoundly held -- and introspective elements.
Mamun then moved on to his series works -- people that he followed for a long time. The motivation behind them was to frame the changes that these people go through, not just externally, but also in terms of persona, he said. He displayed a series of photographs of artist SM Sultan, while sharing stories of staying at Sultan's Narail residence, where the bohemian had snakes, weasels, birds and various other animals as pets. Describing Sultan as a “wild character”, Mamun said it was impossible to tolerate Sultan for more than 72 hours because of his bizarre lifestyle and personality, and that is what made him such a striking subject.