 Dr
Pierre Claquin's book Surviving Dreams: The
Struggling Circuses of Bangladesh launched at
the Alliance Francaise
Dr Pierre Claquin, who has held a number of
exhibitions of his photographs of the people
of Bangladesh, brought out his book, Surviving
Dreams: The Struggling Circuses of Bangladesh
at the Alliance Francaise. Michel Lummaux, the
French Ambassador, launching the book, praised
Dr Claquin for making the Bangladeshis aware
of the existence of life in the countryside.
He said the subjects of some of the photos were
such that Bangladeshi viewers thought that the
photos were decades old. He also praised Dr
Claquin for his relentless work as a physician
for the people of Bangladesh since the Liberation
War. Dr Claquin is presently based in Jakarta
and works for the European Union.
Given below is Pierre Claquin's (PC) interview
with Fayza Haq of The Daily Star (TDS).
TDS: Is the book a compilation of photographs,
that you've taken over the years, some of
which have featured in the pages of TDS earlier?
PC: It is not a compilation of photographs
that I've taken before. This is a separate,
individual project. There was an exhibition
during The Chhobi Mela in November 2002 and
I presented 30 pictures at Alliance Francaise
based on the theme of the circus. In the course
of my work, I began to contact circuses which
I felt were an interesting subject. I hoped
that they would work with us in disseminating
messages on polio eradication . Many people
go to the circus every day and I thought that
my companions and I could interrupt the show
on several occasions and then spread the messages.
I felt that I should make a photo essay of
the lives of the circus performers. The more
I got know them, the more fascinated I was.
TDS: Will you say something more about yourself,
your medical background. How did you get into
photography and the pictures in the book?
PC: I'm a public health medical doctor. In
the past five years that I prepared the book,
I was in a project funded by USAID. The circuses
were held all over Bangladesh.
There
are 120 photographs, all black and white,
accompanied by comments but these do not immediately
face the photos. I decided to put them at
the end of the book with a vignette of the
pictures.
TDS:
Why did you choose the circus rather than
anything else in Bangladesh as your theme?
PC: There are many themes which I could have
captured and I have many more in mind, for
example, the deep sea fishermen, who leave
their homes to fish in the Bay of Bengal.
I've always wanted to focus on the people
who are marginal, on the edge of society.
This is because I think one learns a lot about
the core of Bangladeshi society. One gets
to know how the society is treating the marginal
people. This is true in every country, when
one looks into the situations such as that
of the senior citizens and the migrant workers
in USA and Europe. One learns a lot about
the evolution of a society from such studies.
TDS: Are your pictures in black and white
or colour? Do you mainly go in for the dramatic
and subtle effect of the black and white which
to some appear more aesthetically inclined
? What equipment did you use?
PC: I made a choice and preferred to go in
for black and white. Normally I take colour
pictures. There are two reasons why I went
in for black and white this time For one,
I felt that the circus environment is very
colourful and I felt that going black and
white will help to focus on both the faces
and the activities. The second reason is technical:
with high-speed films the best result can
be achieved in black and white.
I
have been using a Nikon for 30 years. I began
and am still quite content with it. You ask
me about the number of rolls of films: they
were innumerable. For capturing the action,
my equipment was quite suitable: this avoided
the grains that come in colour when speed
is involved. There is no romantic reason for
the choice.
TDS: What memories do you have of the time
you spent on taking the films for the book?
PC: The only problem was a technical one,
in trying to capture the movements as well
as trying to bring in the ambience of the
circus. People were open. I admit a foreigner
in the east is often a source of attraction.
I was with Bangladeshi co-workers and they
too were welcomed. I didn't mind the heat
or rain but I lost a lot of weight. We stayed
in nearby local hotels and watched the three
different shows a day. I got to see jatra
performances, which have an association with
the traditional role of the circus. Decades
back they were two separate genres, but now
they tend to be more and more combined.
TDS: Does your work give you a strong sense
of satisfaction?
PC: Obviously, I wouldn't continue with my
photography if I didn't enjoy it. What I'm
after is to capture a part of reality and
try to present it a way that will make it
more accessible to the people. I enjoy my
moments with my cameras and try to do useful
work whenever I can. My wife and son are very
understanding about my days away with my photography
and they take pride in my work.
The Daily Star, May 11, 2004
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