Synopsis:

Contemporary Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were formed after decades of conflict, partition and socio-political movements that took place across the region from 1905–12 and 1947–71. The Bengal region has a recorded history of four millennia and a rich cultural and social history. Even as they are divided by national borders, the countries have much in common because of their shared pasts and inextricably connected futures.

Taking the struggles for independence as the starting point, this exhibition features the works of seminal and emerging photographers and filmmakers from Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. Their works are part of the visual developments of wider Bengal, conveying the turbulence and pain in its history, and touching on the complexity of social issues and diverse range of lived experiences within this region.

Co-curated by artists Sarker Protick and Munem Wasif (Bangladesh), Bengal Divided is an ongoing research and exhibition project first presented at the 2017 Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography, which has been specially adapted for the Esplanade Tunnel.

Sarker Protick (b. 1986, Bangladesh) has exhibited in London, New York, Germany, South Korea, and Dubai, among others. He received a 2015 World Press Photo Award and the grand prize for the 2017 Australian Photobook of the Year.

Munem Wasif (b. 1983, Bangladesh) has exhibited at the Gwangju Biennale and Singapore Biennale, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Whitechapel Gallery, Palais de Tokyo, and in galleries in France, Austria and the Netherlands. Both artists have been curators at the Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography.

Artist Talk by Sarker Protick and Munem Wasif (Bangladesh)
14 Jul 2017, Fri
7 – 8.30pm
Jendela (Visual Arts Space), Esplanade
Free Admission