Fractures

Bangladesh is increasingly becoming a polarised country - politically, religiously, socially, economically. There have been several murders in recent years of bloggers and those standing up for human rights, critical of both the government and Islam. Among these victims were two friends of mine, murdered in the flat where we all used to hang out. Dhaka was already a difficult place for me to live. In an effort to relax, I had turned to wandering the busy streets of Old Dhaka after dark. I photographed without raising the camera to my eye. It was therapeutic, unburdening me of any visual decisions. I was letting go of any control of the composition. It almost seemed like chance was creating fictional portraits of the people I was passing by. With the death of my friends came a lurking fear that never quite goes away. I continued my wanderings, and soon realised the images had become an expression of the relationship I have with this city, which I can't help but keep returning to.