A two week long photography exhibition titled Kinetic by Gazi Nafis Ahmed is going on at EMK Center and will continue till November 17. This is the first time EMK Center is hosting a photography exhibition with director MK Aaref as the curator.
The title of the exhibition Kinetic refers to energy of an object, it possesses due to its motion. The exhibition kinetic relates with urban life and the collisions that are apparent in a widespread and complex society that is in a continuous motion of change.
Nafis is a documentary photographer, where he sees Bangladesh as a place with many social challenges and feels compelled to use the lens to document the constant changes and impact of the collective state of mind of the people. His portraits dissonantly expresses human emotions and he has done an outstanding job in capturing human emotions with chilling accuracy.
Nafis took photos during religious practices that portray human philosophy, belief and rituals. A photo was taken during Chorok Puja, where young-adult males are hooked from the skin of their abdominal back that shows their sacrifice and endurance power to satisfy Kali, a Hindu deity. In another piece, he captured a dance in motion, all his photographs have a quality of restlessness that will be evident to acute observers.
The curator Aaref said: “We want to demonstrate the energy of urban life. The photographs will take a viewer from comfort zones, and their deliver them to a thought provoking state of mind. Nafis captured the moment of an individual’s pain, restlessness, anxiety and passion throughout different events of the daily travails of life.
“The black and white photos on display, filters the reality and goes beyond the imagination.” He also adds “Nafis is a young photographer with potential. Being as architect I can relate to Nafis’ exploration of the concept of urbanisation. His photos channel that specific energy required to make a vierwer feel restless.
Besides, it was good to perceive a wide range of emotions and landscapes that are generated by the constant interaction of human, which collectively creates the vibe and spirit of his work.”
About his photos, Nafis said: “I try to relate to my subjects while taking a photograph. This helps me capture an image and its emotion with accuracy.”
