Tragedy swirling in the village waters

Jun 12, 2012 - Swati Vishnoi

One of the pictures from the exhibition by Munem Wasif

Turning the spotlight on the water tragedy brewing in Bangladesh, documentary photographer Munem Wasif’s recent exhibition on photographs “Goalmari, Bangladesh’s Own Island” at the Alliance Francaise depicts the symbol of the country’s battle against contamination, scarcity and inaccessibility of clean drinking water.

Talking about his works, Munem says, “I got the assignment for Veolia, France in 2008 to document the village Goalmari and the relationship that people share with water. The exhibition focuses on ‘water’ and its role, symbol and use in a rural village of Bangladesh. The exhibition talks about arsenic contaminated area at some of the villages of Bangladesh.”
Sharing his connection with the place, Munem says, “I live in Bangladesh and most of my works reflect the culture of the place.” About his upcoming project, he shares, “I am working on a project ‘In God We Trust’, which is about Islam in Bangladesh. After 9/11 people have a very mono/stereotype perception about Islam. I want to show duality and multiple layers about Islam.”
On his idea of photography, Munem says, “I love photography because it gives me an excuse to see different layers of society. It gives me a chance to travel and meet people.

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