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Laatikkomo’s interview with Arfun Ahmed  August 15th, 2013

Where are you from?

(What cities, and/or countries have you lived in – or what places have influenced you?)

AA:  I’m from Dhaka, actually from the oldest part of it. I didn’t live in any other country.

 

What is your earliest memory of photography?

AA:  I can’t pin point it. but I can remember when, start taking photography seriously!  I was an independent film movement activist, and wanted to be cinematographer! One of my filmmaker friend said, if you understand photography a bit it will help you to understand cinematography! So I went to ‘Pathshala South Asian Media Institute’ for a basic course and after finishing that, I attended to a workshop. And I fell in love with this medium.

 

Your different photographs seem to be the illustrations of a story. When the details of each individual series are stripped away, are you telling the same stories from different angles?
AA: Interesting! I will think about that!

 

It seems that your process of working is about adventure – photographic exploration charting undocumented territory of ordinary people.  Are there risks involved in your process?

AA: I never thought about it! I don’t know my process of working is about any kinds of adventure or not!   And what risk are you talking about?

 

Your photographs seem to carry social and/or environmental undertones. Is your work, as a photographer, considered political in Bangladesh? (Your choice of subject matter, the stories you want to tell)

AA: My works may seem to carry social and/or environmental undertones, but I don’t think like that. I’m a storyteller, to me a story is only a story and, I don’t care either its true or not, either it had social context or not! I only care about the story, is it a beautiful story to tell others or not! I always wanted to tell a beautiful lie!

I think humans are political animal, and photographers are also human right?  So my works can be considered as political in anywhere in this world!

 

Could you list 5 (or more) words that you were thinking about when you made this work?

AA: 1. Reality vs fantasy

2. Magic

3. Love

4. Fun

5. Private space

 

Do you have a message or a question that you would like to reveal through your photography?

AA: No, nothing like that.

Thank you Arfun!