Imrul is a Bangladeshi-American photographer currently based in New York. For him, photography is a medium of storytelling that seeks to navigate the path between fiction and reality.
As a result of his background in Psychology and Political Science, Imrul is drawn towards vulnerable communities, especially the different genres of being human. He is fascinated by the image making process: especially the idea of making images as opposed to taking them. For Imrul, there is a need to move beyond the captured moment, to unframe in order to understand the complexities behind a photograph.
As a result, his photo stories are often substantiated by texts: personal reflections and thoughts on the issues at hand. He approaches the medium with the realisation that all perspectives are biased, and that truth as it pertains to photography is subjective.
Imrul’s photos often capture moments of calm. Uncluttered frames in the midst of chaos, an affinity for empty spaces, a fondness for subtleties and nuances. More often that not, the photos Imrul takes represent a world he wants to see, not necessarily one that he encounters. Yet, they are moments that do exist in reality, albeit fleetingly.
Imrul’s photos have been published and exhibited internationally, including Bangladesh, Canada, USA and UK.
About ‘Dhaka‘:
Dhaka is a city on steroids. It overwhelms one’s visual faculties, overpowers the senses and leaves a trail of bittersweet residue. Transience defines the city; what exists today will disappear tomorrow, everything will change, everything but the chaos. The birds will forever navigate its haphazard wires.
To attempt to talk about Dhaka is to attempt to talk about the last two decades of my life. I was born here, and the first ever sounds I heard were the sounds of a city waking up around me. Dhaka, for me, is an oeuvre of happiness and hurt, and it is a space I love, treasure and detest with equal intensity.
The city inspires even as it disappoints, and when night falls, it leaves in its stead trails of bittersweet residue. Most of these images were taken over the course of the last year, and are meant to be a prelude to a unnervingly complex space.
