Noazesh Ahmed, one of the pioneers and foremost photographers of Bangladesh, is a man of diverse interests and traits. He is a leading agricultural scientist, and has worked in various capacities in national, regional and international organisations. Photography has been his lifelong passion. His professional career allowed many opportunities for him to exercise this interest. Since the Baby Brownie of his early years, he never parted with the camera. A retrospective exhibition representing almost six decades of Noazish Ahmed’s photography is indeed difficult to organize, both in terms of selection from such a wide range and also in trying to determine the fundamental traits of his work. This time, the daunting task of selecting a hundred odd photographs has been done by the artist himself. Once these are displayed in the Gallery, the distinctive collection will speak for itself. The viewer will immediately perceive that Noazesh Ahmed searches the ordinary for challenging forms. His vision turns the mundane into the sublime. The framed, still, photograph speaks of the moment but the dynamics of the image transcends that to capture a greater quest. Such mobility is not derived from the form, but from the content itself. The individual in his photograph represents the search of the artist for the essence of human existence. As a result, while the camera depicts a passing show, the cameraman is looking to capture eternal moments. Noazesh Ahmed aspires to hit the right chord for blending these two opposites.
One of the earliest photographs featured in this exhibition is a black and white still depicting two boatmen, taken in 1947. This image surprises us in its intensity and carries with it a strong indication of his future quest. This photograph precedes Zainul Abedin’s famous painting Goontana. In the image, the first boatman is bent with strain while the other stands firm. The background is etched with dark monsoon clouds that add depth to the portrayal.
Noazesh Ahmed has worked in various parts of the world but always with a camera in his hand. This has led to an astonishing diversity in content. He has authored numerous articles on environmental and scientific issues. His keen interest in the arts propelled him towards creative writing as well. His passion for exploring the deeper meaning of life led him to create the ‘Gautama’ series wherein the novices’ bright saffron robes are offset against the panoramic scenery. Together, this probes a key question in the philosophy of life. Noazesh Ahmed has been consistent in transforming his photographs from specific imagery to a much larger context. When doing Buddha’s Kamakura statue in Japan, Noazesh Ahmed allows us to concentrate on the grace of Buddha’s folded palms instead of the massive size of the piece itself. By doing so he allows us to embark on a sacred personal journey. It is indeed not surprising that Noazesh Ahmed has done a series on Jibanananda Das, where depiction of the natural beauty of Bengal goes beyond direct portrayal of nature. His photographs accompanying Chinnapatra, an anthology of Rabindranath Tagore’s letters written from Eastern Bengal, is an enormously significant piece of work. In this series Noazesh Ahmed depicts the beauty of rural Bengal as well as the traits of the struggle of its people, which is a recurring theme in his work.
It is difficult to express the diversity of Noazesh Ahmed’s work in brief. His use of color in photography requires more serious discussion. He has greater preference for color photography than black and white. In his efforts to depict the drama of human life he seems to prefer the heightened and dramatic conflict of color. He has photographed a wide range of subjects. He spent a whole day in Hiroshima photographing the events marking the anniversary of the A-bomb explosion. Although he portrayed a few Hibakusha victims but mostly his subject was young people and the colorful aspect of the celebration, such as the bright lamps floating on river Ota. He seems to try to cover the pains of life with its beauty. His work on Oman or Tashkent-Samarkand is brilliantly portrayed. The last but not least is the photo-montage featuring faces disfigured by tension and crisis. One part of piece depicts the disaster brought on nature by men and the other indicates the destruction wrought by armament and firepower. The innocent face and bright eyes of the girl raises many pertinent questions. Like his photographs Noazesh Ahmed stands for more than what he shows. It depends on us to feel it, or just see it.

Mofidul Haque