Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Gazi Nafis Ahmed is a Bangladeshi scholar and artist working with photography. He was born in November 1982 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ahmed comes from the renowned Gazi family, who were one of the Baro Bhuyan(Twelve Zaminders of Bengal) in sixteenth century, from the Bhawal Estate now known as Gazipur in Bangladesh.

Biography

From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the mentor program at VII Photo Agency, working with his mentor John Stanmeyer.
Nafis did his schooling from Bangladesh International Tutorial, a prominent private schools in Bangladesh. He studied art and design at the Sir John Cass Department of Art, Media & Design of London Guildhall University in London and photography at the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Denmark. Nafis was awarded full scholarship by Istituto Europeo di Design in Madrid to do Masters of Fine Arts in photography. In 2016, Nafis was invited as a scholar at The Center for Social Difference at the prestigious Columbia University.
Gazi Nafis Ahmed was awarded at the international Pride Photo Award 2015 held at the historic Oude Kerk, Amsterdam ("old church") in Amsterdam. There were 3,800 entries from 60 countries around the world. Pride Photo Award is considered to be the most prestigious contest for photography about gender diversity. Nafis won in "Stories of Love and Pride" category for his series "Inner Face". In 2013, Nafis received the Blub Award from Format International Photography Festival in the United Kingdom. He is the youngest Bangladeshi artist to have a solo show at the esteemed Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts. Gazi Nafis Ahmed participated at the Mining Warm Data exhibition. It was curated by Diana Campbell Betancourt, artistic director of DAS. In 2014, artworks by Nafis were featured in the landmark show B/Desh in Dhaka Art Summit, the largest platform for South Asian art, curated by Deepak Ananth. His work has been exhibited in UK, Spain, Netherlands, China, India and Bangladesh. Some of the organizations he has worked with are International Finance Corporation of World Bank Group, Medicins Sans Frontieres, UNAIDS, UNDP, WFP, Save The Children. His photos have graced the pages of The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Guardian, among others.
In 2013, Nafis organized the first ever photography forum for the pioneer photographers of Bangladesh called “Evolution of Photography” at the Edward M Kennedy Center in Dhaka, which gave them a platform to share their experiences and discuss untold rich history of photography in the country.
One of his critically acclaimed serial “Inner Face” addresses the sensitive and precarious issues of human rights of the LGBT community. They convey the subtle sense of challenge in the expressions of the community in a traditional and conservative culture like Bangladesh. The photographs seem to carry that sense of “conquering” social taboos, of trying to become free of the manacles that tie the inborn or acquired identity to social norms.

‘I don’t want anyone to come between us’ … Shahinoor and Nipa. Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

One of the studies of members of the Bangladeshi LGBT community, from Ahmed’s series Inner Face. Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Shamol was 13 when this photo was taken, and working as a sex worker to support his family. “My mother supplies water to five shops, but that is not enough to provide for the family. I have to do my best to make a living. I will need to arrange my sister’s marriage and send my younger siblings to school. I often get hijacked at night. But I have to keep on doing it. I see no other options.” Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

“Any discussion around sex and sexuality is taboo in my country.” Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Alam and Kabir grew up in the same village and fell in love; at the time of this photo they had been together for 11 years. “We will go on to prove that two men can spend their lives together in complete happiness.” Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Lover #11 (Billal & Aman): ‘Our family thinks we are just friends, but we are deeply in love and nothing can tear us apart.” Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Mithu: ‘If I could understand myself back then like I do now, then I believe nobody would have been able to force me to get married.’ Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Bobby: ‘I left home when I was 14 years old. I am now the Guru of 500 hijras making a living under my guidance in my neighbourhood.’ Photograph: Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Mamun (15), Mamun (12), Morshed (12) We work in Jute Mill. When I grow up I want to be: a Hero (Mamun, 15); a Lawyer (Mamun, 12); an engineer (Morshed, 12) © Gazi Nafis Ahmed

Rubel, 16 years old. Dhaka, Bangladesh. I do not remember where I am from. An old lady left me alone in this train station, when I was small. I grew up sniffing glue. It keeps me high, away from all the pain in life. © Gazi Nafis Ahmed