The "New normal through my eyes" online photography exhibition to last till 14 September

To celebrate this World Photography Day 2021, KrayonMag and the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh have collaborated to create an online photography exhibition at EMK Center to tell the narrative of new normal for this corona pandemic named, 'New normal through my eyes'.

The exhibition started on 1 September and will continue until 14 September, with the participation of photography clubs from several Universities around the country, states a press release.  

The young storytellers captured the synopsis of lockdown life very creatively. With nowhere to go and very little things to do in this lockdown, everyone was caged at their home. All the 60 Photographs exhibited in this exhibition shows us the essence of new normal during this lockdown and home quarantines in our life and surroundings. 

Dolon Champa Dutta, Project supervisor of KrayonMag says, "Pictures tell the story of people. Today's pictures are the documents of the future world. We want to save these corona days through the lens of our student's camera. Which is why we are organizing this exhibition." 

Professor Dr. Jude Willium Genilo, MSJ Departmental Head of ULAB quotes, "We celebrate photography as an art, as a science. The photography day is celebrated so that we can encourage more people, more students to take photography as a hobby or as their career. Years later when we will forget about this current situation, the sole pictures will be our memories"

Top Picks

Out of 60 Photographs, EMK Center picked three images by three photographers that stood out in the exhibition. 

'Caged' by Noor Muhammad Khan Mahi, 

During strict lockdown, Noor Muhammad Khan Mahi was spending time in his balcony on a gloomy day while an idea hit him to capture peoples caged life in a photo. About his photo he remarked, "Many shots were taken to get that one perfect shot but every time it was missing something. Something that completes the picture. Then suddenly I saw some birds flying and without a second thought, I started taking shots. The element that was missing before, was something that represented what people used to seek the most back then; their desired freedom. So, basically the concept of the photo "Caged" is the table turned this time. Now, we humans are locked and bound to stay at home to survive and see birds flying free in the sky".  

'Crowd' by Zihad Mehedi

The RMG sectors of Bangladesh contribute a lot in annual GDP growth. To keep the wheel of economy running the government has reopened the garment industries so many times following the health precautions. According to the photographer of this picture Zihad Mehedi, "This overcrowded picture is just a representation of hard-working Bangladeshi workers who have to go to their work even in this pandemic every day in order to keep the existence of their livelihood. This photo was captured on an evening from a foot over bridge when the garment industry has their closing time and workers are getting out continuously on the way to their destination."

'Tribal art Learning During Pandemic' by Refat Fatema 

This long lockdown and strict quarantine at home has helped a lot of people to unleash their creativity, learn new skills, and adapt new hobbies. Refat Fatema has used this time to learn African Tribal Body Painting which is a popular art form in African Culture. About her photo, Refat Fatema said, "During Pandemic I had lots of free time to utilize so I was trying out different art forms and that is how this picture became the outcome of one of my experiments. Body painting is one of the significant parts of African Culture. They express their feelings, religious views, social status through body art. I practiced lots of their art forms and this is one of them. Through my picture, I showed respect towards their beautiful culture and arts."

The Participating clubs are, Shutterbugs ULAB, Shahjalal University Photographers' Association (SUPA), North South University Art & Photography Club (NSUAPC), Army IBA Film & Photographic Society, Gono Bishwabidyalay Photo Library, Institute of Science and Technology Photography Club (ISTPC), American International University Bangladesh Photography Club (AIUBPC), Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology Photography Club (AUSTPC).

Click to view the exhibition here: https://emkcenter.org/exhibition 

Exhibition going on from September 01 to 14, 2021