A Photography Exhibition by Shahidul Alam

Kalpana Chakma Abduction Day

Kalpana Chakma, a young leader of the Hill Women’s Federation, was abducted eighteen years back, from her home by military personnel and civilian law-enforcers on 12 June, 1996 at gunpoint. She remains missing.

The exhibition, by Bangladesh’s most well known photographer, Shahidul Alam, is a powerful and poignant essay that uses found objects, newspaper clippings, extracts from her diary and her personal belongings to produce a haunting but lyrical rendering of the deeply disturbing story.

The exhibition, part of Drik’s public awareness campaign “No More”, opened on Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 6:00 pm, at Drik Gallery. It was inaugurated by Nurul Kabir, editor, New Age.

The exhibition “18” follows from the previous show “Searching for Kalpana Chakma”, a collaborative study begun last year by Shahidul Alam and anthropologist Saydia Gulrukh.

Drik’s No More campaign began in March 2010 with it’s exhibition “Crossfire” on extrajudicial killings by the Rapid Action Battalion. This was followed by the exhibitions “Murder Not Tragedy” highlighting the situation of garment workers. The exhibitions “Searching for Kalpana Chakma” in 2013 and the upcoming show “18” continue to question the impunity of state machineries and the complicity of the establishment.

Published: June 12, 2014