Shadman Shahid：Another day in paradise

Shadman Shahid is a freelance documentary photographer who works in Banglandesh Dhaka.

Another day in Paradise is a story on the complex relationship between the landscapes and the inhabitants of St. Martin Island. St. Martin Island is an eight km long very small Island in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh. The Island is very seductive with its beauty but it also has a melancholic uncertainty with its people which dragged me into the story.

@Shadman Shahid 「Another day in Paradise」Series

@Shadman Shahid 「Another day in Paradise」Series

All is not well in paradise. There is a great evil looming over, threatening to destroy this paradise on earth.

For the last decade or so the Island』s unparalleled beauty has attracted many admirers from all over. The tourism industry started to boom. The fishermen tired of being attacked and killed in the sea by pirates and the Burmese Coast guards decided that tourism was a far safer and lucrative option for earning a living. They started to build hotels and buildings to keep the tourists satisfied. They broke the stones in the shore to cut down the cost of material. They depleted their fresh water and they polluted the sea. Only until recently, they were thought to be illegal immigrants from Myanmar. Only until recently they weren』t recognized as proper Bangladeshis. The locals believe that tourism is their only hope for development and escape from negligence from the government.

@Shadman Shahid 「Another day in Paradise」Series

@Shadman Shahid 「Another day in Paradise」Series

In 1997 St Martin was declared Ecologically Critical Area (ECA). Since the start of the boom in tourism industry the ground has been showing cracks as it doesn』t have the capability to support heavy buildings. The pollution and coral bleaching is gravely upsetting the unique ecosystem of the Island. The rising sea water caused by global warming and the breaking of stones in the sea shore has caused the Island』s size to decrease drastically. The paradise faces the possibility of eradication.

Photointer: How did you start studying photography and how does photography attract you， so that you decide to use it to express yourself?

Shadman Shahid : At one point in my life, I had decided to become a filmmaker. I wanted to hone my film-making skills. One of my Pathshala teachers introduced us to the work of Julia Margaret Cameron. About her photograph "The Echo」, the teacher said that 「it』s one of those pictures that will haunt you at night when you are trying to sleep.」 I could see what he meant and why he was so passionate about photography. It was one of the moments that drew me closer towards the camera.

@Shadman Shahid 「White Elephant」Series

@Shadman Shahid 「White Elephant」Series

@Shadman Shahid 「White Elephant」Series

Photointer: No matter it』s colored or black & White images, your works are full of desire, fear, heaven, death, it』s all about imagination. Where does your inspiration come from?

Shadman Shahid : I get inspired by a lot of things I think. At various periods of time I was inspired by several things. For example when I was doing the work in China 「White Elephant」 I drew inspiration from Alec Soth and Mu Ge. But there are few inspirations that remain with me constantly. Like Lewis Carrol, Joel peter Witkins, Rinko Kawauchi, Bijon Sarker and many more.

@Shadman Shahid 「White Elephant」Series

@Shadman Shahid 「White Elephant」Series

Photointer: Is there any relationship between your works and the reality? What do you want to tell us through your works? What』s the meaning of it?

Shadman Shahid : I think Photography is always chained to reality to some extent. What I want to say through my work and the meaning differs according to the work. There is no overall connecting theme for all my works, at least not consciously.

Photointer: Is there any relationship between each series? Such as between 《ajna》and 《another day in paradise》？

Photointer: Did colors, shadow, light play an important role in your works? How?

Shadman Shahid : Colors and light and shadow is what make up all photographs and therefore plays an important role in everyone』s works in varying ways. In my work these aspects set the mood and character of the photographs. In Ajna I used color symbolically.

@Shadman Shahid "ajna" Series

@Shadman Shahid "ajna" Series

Photointer: As I know, you are the professor from Pathshala South Asian, I used to come to Pathshala during Chobi Mela Photo Festival. How do you think of Bangladesh photographers? Is there any difference between Bangladesh photographers and other Asian photographers? Such as a strong desire of expression in their works and their enthusiasm for creation.

I think each individual photographer have their own personal journey and way of looking at the world. It is dangerous to lump any number of photographers together just because they are from a certain area or country. This practice creates stereotypes and stereotypes are almost never good.

@Shadman Shahid "ajna" Series

Photointer: You have been to Chengdu China and create a series 《White Elephant》，could you talk about your creation process in China? What kind of feeling you want to show in your pictures?

Shadman Shahid : The place that I photographed in China felt like a setting for a Garcia Marquez story and I felt like I was a character in that story. It all seemed quite magical, looking at the rows after rows of empty apartments constantly being maintained by the handful of residents who live there. I wanted to transfer that feeling through my pictures.

Photointer: You also enjoyed the photography workshop with Chinese photographers, what are the differences between Chinese photographers and Bangladesh photographers in terms of the content and the technique of expression？

Photointer: What is the theme of your next work?

微信公眾號「影像國際」

喜歡這篇文章嗎？立刻分享出去讓更多人知道吧！