Bijon Sarkar () (11 April 1935 – 29 November 2012) was a Bangladeshi photographer.

Life and work

He was born on 11 April 1935, in

Gaibandha Gaibandha () is a town and district headquarters of Gaibandha District in northern Bangladesh. It is a centre of commerce and trade of the Gaibandha District and is located under the Rangpur Division. The area of the city is approximately 10.54 ...

, Bangladesh, the son of Gouranath Sarkar. Bijon Sarkar left home for Dhaka after his parents died and his ancestral land was lost in river erosion. Bijon had his first lessons in photography from his elder brother Tarapodo Sarkar, who was a self-taught sculptor but pursued photography at leisure. His first professional training in photography was while he participated in the workshop conducted by photographer Manzoor Alam Beg in 1961. Sarkar's career in photography took off after his appointment at the Pakistan's Geological Survey in 1962. Seven years later, he joined

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information & Broadc ...

as a cameraman. The television authority sacked him after the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

began in 1971, forcing Sarkar to take refuge in India. He later joined Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation as its Chief Photographer in 1972 and retired from there in 1995. A founding member of the Bangladesh Photographic Society (BPS), he became its president in the 1990s. He was also one of the founding members of the Bangladesh Film Society. Bijon believed photography had every potential to become a form of art like painting. And his first photography exhibition exhibited his belief very well. Bijon Sarker died on 29 December 2012. He sustained head injuries in a

road accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...

on the night of 21 November 2012. He was in a coma and never regained consciousness.

Photography career

Sarker took his first photography lessons from his elder brother Tarapodo Sarker, who was a self-taught sculptor. Sarker then participated in the workshop conducted by the photographer Golam Kashem Daddy. In 1962 Sarkar was appointed to the Pakistan's Geological Survey as a photographer. After liberation Bijon Sarkar joined

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) () is a statutory board under the Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism of Bangladesh, tasked to promote the tourism industry of the country. It is the National Tourism Organization of the country. Recently Ba ...

as a Chief Photographer in 1972. In 1995 he retired from Parjatan Corporation and became the founding member of the Bangladesh Photographic Society (BPS). He became its president in 1990s.

Photogram

He experimented in the darkroom and created some remarkable artworks, known as

photogram A photogram is a Photography, photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The usual result is a negative shadow im ...

s, doing photography without a camera. He believed photography had every potential to become a form of art like painting. He put up an exhibition of photographs at

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

in 1970, his last solo photo exhibition. The nature and life of rural

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

was always his favorite subject.

Cinematography career

In 1969 Sarkar joined Pakistan Television as a

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

; he also worked as Assistant Cinematographer in the film ''Nodi o Nari''. He was one of the founding members of the Bangladesh Film Society.

Awards

* 1st Prize in the Second ACCU contest in 1977 * Commonwealth Award in 1978 * Honourable mentions in the first and second CPE in Canada and Cyprus in 1978 and 1980 respectively * ACCU in 1996 * 'Grameen Bangladesh', a poster that won the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation 'PAT Gold Award', was a photograph taken by Bijon Sarkar

Exhibitions

* Solo exhibition at Dhaka in 1967 * Solo exhibition at Islamabad in 1970

Lifetime achievement

Bijon Sarkar remains one of the unsung heroes of the Bangladesh photographic movement. With a penchant for experimentation, Sarkar's photograms of the sixties were remarkable not only for the nature of the work, but because it happened in Pakistan, in complete isolation. Experimentation remained his passion even into the

digital age The Information Age is a History by period, historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on info ...

, where he took abstract motifs from found objects to digitally synthesise human and other conventional forms. Bijon Sarkar received the

Chobi Mela International Photography Festival Chobi Mela () is a biennial international festival of photography held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 2000 by Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam, the festival is organized by Drik Picture Library and Pathshala South Asian Me ...

VII lifetime achievement award in 2013.

Death

On 29 December 2012, Bijon Sarkar died. He sustained head injuries in a

on the night of 21 November 2012. He had been undergoing treatment at the

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

(ICU) of City Hospital in Dhaka. He had received injuries in his head, and bled profusely. He was in a coma and never regained consciousness.

Interviews

ফটোগ্রাফি উইদাউট ক্যামেরা!
কামরা খন্ড-১

References

External links

Drik Image

BDnews

Ittefaq

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkar, Bijon Bangladeshi photographers Bangladeshi artists 1935 births 2012 deaths