My World, My Future

First (C), second (L) and third prize winning photographs displayed at the exhibition. PHOTO: STAR

Contamination in process, effects of pollution, changes in lifestyle, picturesque landscapes and woods were the subjects of the photographs displayed at the recent month-long exhibition titled My World, My Future held at British Council, Dhaka.

A photograph by Shafiqul Islam Kajol shows an elderly woman with a walking stick crossing an arid land. The metaphor in the image is intriguing -- old age and drought, nothing else visible in the vicinity.

In the photograph by GMB Akash, a farmer and his son are seen drying paddy on a bed in their yard, as everything else is under water during the season of monsoon. M Yusuf Tushar's photograph zooms in on pollution underway. Chemical waste from a garment dying factory is seen seeping deep into the untarnished green patch of land -- disturbing, yet aesthetically fascinating. Another image by Tapesh Shome highlights a dock where oil from a ship is siphoned into barrels to be recycled. Oil spills are visible in the photograph, as are corroded metals and toxic chemicals lying around.

The 2nd prize winning photograph by Munirul Alam is inspiring. The close shot shows a young girl being carried by her father wading through flood-water. The caption reads: "Flood-water can't stop her from going to school."

Composition of the first prize winner by Abu Taher Khokon is riveting. Colourful hoods of lined up rickshaws partially submerged in flood-water are visible. A man is seen towing a raft. His wife and their belongings are on the raft. The photograph was taken in a low-lying area in Muhammadpur, which transformed into a virtual lake during the torrential rain in July 2005.

In the photograph by Zia Islam, a mangrove forest area in the coast is featured. Settlements in these areas are endangering the wildlife but the homeless have no other place to go.

These images illustrate the current state of environment in our country as pollution and global warming take their toll; serving as a wake-up call by providing an idea of what’s in store for us if we don’t clean up the act.

The exhibition ended on February 28.