Bangladeshi photographer Pinu Rahman’s “Lost Childhood” wins Paris Prix De La Photographie 2021
Pinu Rahman's photo story "Lost Childhood" depicts the agony of child labour
Bangladeshi photographer Pinu Rahman's photo story "Lost Childhood" has been awarded at the Prix de la Photographie de Paris ( PX3 ) under the special category 'The State of the World'.
The PX3 announced the category 'State of the World' in 2019 and Pinu Rahman became the third Bangladeshi to receive the prestigious award.
Out of 380 photo stories sent by photographers from around the world, 130 were primarily selected for the PX3 2021.
After the primary selection, "Lost Childhood" is among the 30 photo stories that will be showcased during the exhibition on 25 October in Espace Beaurepaire gallery, located at the heart of Paris, confirmed Pinu Rahman to The Business Standard.
"This is the first time I have participated in the Paris Photography Awards or PX3. Interestingly, I have always received awards for single snaps, but for the first time I have received an award for a photo story."
In 2019, he had won 'Best of Nation' award in 'World Photographic Cup 2019' for one of the still images from his photo story "Lost Childhood"
Asked what the concept of his photo story was, Pinu shared the story behind the 11 photos of "Lost Childhood."
"One of the most important part of a child's life is being loved and nurtured in a family. Childhood is incomplete, even damaged, without it. But for some families, providing for their children and nurturing them with the necessary comfort is a luxury. They simply do not have the bare minimum. They end up giving their children up to child labour so that they can earn money to survive. Ultimately, they become a little more than an additional - and much needed - source of income. Regardless of reasons, this essentially turns these children into day-labourers and inevitably contributes to a brutal loss of innocence."
His photos show children at a ship propeller-making factory at Sadarghat dockyard in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, working without proper safety equipment and in an overall unsafe condition. "They say their work starts from 7 in the morning and goes on until 7 in the evening. Twelve hours of hard physical labour earns them $3 dollar a day. They have no weekly vacation," he added.
A banker by profession at Rupali Bank, photography is a passion for Pinu Rahman. "Friday and Saturday might be holidays for other bankers, but for me, these two days are photography days," said Pinu, adding he solely use these two days to chase his passion. He credits his wife Fahmida Pompa for encouraging him to engage in photography.
"People around the world recognise Bangladesh for cricket but photography is also contributing to some extent to glorifying the name of our country," said Pinu. "Every year, the photographers of our country receive international awards," he added.
Here are some of the stills from lost childhood which will be showcased at the exhibition in Paris:
This year, Jamie Johnson has received the title of Photographer of the Year and Diana Cheren Nygren has been named Best New Talent at the Prix De La Photographie 2021.
