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The Maze of Metal

Sheikh Arif Bulbon :

Din Muhammad Shibly, a professional photographer, has a special interest in documentary photography. Born in 1977 in Rajshahi, Shibly completed his post graduation in Mass Communication from Rajshahi University in 1999. During his second graduation from Pathshala, the South Asian Institute of Photography, he started off on his career as a photojournalist for a leading Bengali daily in 2004. Soon, he realises that his passion rested elsewhere. After completing his BA in Photography in 2007 he promptly joined an esteemed institution as a lecturer.
It is seen that most visual artists such as documentary photographers and filmmakers are now-a-days highlighting ship-breaking yards in the country. So far, few of them have featured the other side of the coin - the ship-building industry. Bangladesh has the potential to make a substantial income through building and selling ships. Shibly undertook a yearlong project on ship-building yards in the country and the outputs were on display at an exhibition titled ‘The Maze of Metal’ in the city’s Drik Gallery. It was Shibly’s third solo photography exhibition.
The three-day solo exhibition was inaugurated by the Deputy Ambassador of Denmark in Bangladesh, Jan Møller Hansen on November 14. The exhibition displays 51 photographs depicting complicated metal works at the ship-building yards.
In the exhibition, the photographs were classified into two categories - the larger group prioritises commercial aspect, while the smaller group showcases aesthetic visual elements. Most of the photographs highlight the work environment - from an imposing view of a grand vassal to close-up snaps of labourers at work. As a visual artiste, he did not overlook aestheticism either. While talking about his photographs Shibly informed that he had to work previously at ship-building yards by the River Karnaphuli. He got inspired to document the growing industry. His aim is to reveal it to the rest of the country, as well as the world.
“My primary goal is to make people aware that Bangladesh has the capability to produce such large vassals,” said Shibly.
Through his photography, he wants to highlight social issues and conflict to enable civic discourse.
Local ship-building company, Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, sponsored the exhibition with the initiative by Branch Leaves.