Nasir Ali Mamun’s 59th solo photography exhibition at AFD

Sheikh Arif Bulbon :
he fifty-ninth solo photography exhibition titled Joy Bangabandhu by Nasir Ali Mamun is going on at La Galerie of the Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) in the capital’s Dhanmondi area.
Jean-Marin Schuh, Ambassador of France to Bangladesh, attended the event as the chief guest while eminent artist Shahabuddin Ahmed also attended the event as the guest of honour. There are around 25 photographs of Nasir Ali Mamun are on display in the exhibition.
Dedicated to the freedom fighters of Bangladesh, this exhibition is organised on the occasion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Just after the Liberation War in 1971, Nasir Ali Mamun’s camera defined portraiture in Bangladesh that eventually ushered in portrait photography in the country. Being ‘the poet with the camera,’ Mamun has taken some of the most iconic portraits Bangladesh has ever seen. His black and white images display a beautiful yet enigmatic and equivocal coalescence of light and shadow.
Nasir Ali Mamun took many portraits of the ‘Father of the Nation’ Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the early seventies and recorded his rare moments from close up. Dedicated to the freedom fighters of Bangladesh, this solo exhibition titled Joy Bangabandhu showcases previously unpublished and historic photographs of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Nasir Ali Mamun was born in July 1 in 1953 in Dhaka. As the celebrated founder of portrait photography in Bangladesh, Nasir Ali Mamun is best known for his extraordinary and soul-searing portraits of celebrities from a diverse background, including arts and politics. Working exclusively in black and white, his body of work from 1972 onwards has been described as ‘capturing rare moments of rarer human beings in a spirit of discovery, providing a facial history of creative souls.’
A career spanning five decades, Nasir Ali Mamun has had 58 solo photography exhibitions and has fifteen publications to his credit. He is currently working to realise establishment of PHOTOSEUM, a museum based on photography in Bangladesh.
The exhibition will continue till March 24. The gallery will be closed on March 13 and 14. Visiting Hours: Monday to Thursday from 3:00pm to 9:00pm, Friday and Saturday 9:00am to 12 noon and 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Closed on Sunday. n