Sarker Protick is a Bangladeshi artist.
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Episode 30: Protick or Sarker Protick as he is commonly referred to is one of the leading lights of Bangladeshi photography, Born in Dhaka to a Christian family, Protick makes work that reflects ideological change, colonial architecture and borders from the world’s most populated city. The work we explored of Protick’s features a larger discussion about post-colonial narratives and the tradition of photojournalism that is his background. Though I would not consider his work as explicitly referential to his roots, opting for a larger discourse about art, document and politics, what is amazing is his incredible capacity to create mysterious yet illuminating work that reflects complex subject matters.
Protick and I discussed these topics as well as his amazing book with Kartin Koenning entitles Astres Noirs that Chose Commune published a few years back. The book is an experiment and the collaboration is born of a refutation of authorship and the refutation of entitlement that photography is asked to carry born from the weight of language and truth. Protick and I also discussed his interest in bending the medium’s capability to compel larger conversations through the use of sound and video. We also discussed his background studies with Shahidul Alam and the various circumstances of making images in Bangladesh.
Protick is one of the leading lights of contemporary photography. Young and full of enthusiasm he radiates the best qualities for making challenging work that does not fit any mold and yet carries a sincere weight of concern behind the conceptual framework he employs. I think we will see much more from Protick. If you are confused about his name, do not worry, Protick is also not his birth name. I refer to him as Protick in the conversation because it felt correct after we spoke. Please have a listen as I suspect I will return to Protick often and you can join me in monitoring his evolution through these conversations.
