Biography

Mosfiqur Rahman Johan is an anthropologist and documentary photographer, born in Bangladesh in 1997. He has a passion for documenting humanitarian issues, environmental concerns, and socio-political events. Over the years, Johan has traveled extensively throughout Bangladesh to capture compelling visual narratives that raise awareness about social issues and shed light on lesser-known stories that deserve attention.

 

In 2019, Johan enrolled at Brac University to study anthropology to deepen his understanding of the complex issues he documents. There, he honed his skills in ethnography and research-based documentary techniques, which have helped him to better capture the nuances and complexities of the cultures and societies he photographs.

 

Johan's artistic approach merges with long-term immersion, where he actively engage as a participant observer, close contact with the subjects and systematic repetition eschews non facile interpretations to convey layered, sensitive and sometimes contradictory observations on complex issues such as enforced disappearance, death penalty, forceful displacement and police brutality. By exploring the memories of interlocutors, he explores the themes of resistance and resilience–overlooked, yet so important shaping the narrative of the larger socio-political context. Through narrative-driven documentation, he aims to portray the complexities of social dynamics and cultural identities, challenging perceptions and old discourse of state violence, securitization, gender subjectivity and policing.

Johan's works have been awarded, exhibited, and featured in different international media and platforms around the world.