"It is obvious that photography is an art form, an expression of one's ethos, a manifestation of "that something" intangible that cannot be referenced
“It is obvious that photography is an art form, an expression of one’s ethos, a manifestation of “that something” intangible that cannot be referenced, categorized and labelled. But, at the same time, it is also a mirror to the social and material, technological and scientific milieu in which we function. What is, at one level, subjective and personal is, in the same contradictory moment, objective and public. This moment of contradiction best exemplifies my work. It defines most eloquently the vast variety of my experience, the broad sweep of the photographic canvas and the minutest detail of vision and technique.
This innovation, both of technique and subject matter, underlies my work. What distinguishes my work is the ability to use diverse technological mediums, themes, socio-political environments, aesthetics and give them coherence, in essence to make the apparent contradictions meaningful – but not necessarily to resolve them.
The present series of images were produced during my 2010-2011 trip to Dhaka when I visited the Bihari refugee camp in the middle of bustling Dhaka that houses Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh since 1972. They are simple portraits that reflect the tenacity and will of the people to survive despite the horrendous living conditions. I call them Portraits of Statelessness
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