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'Concealed': A Bangladesh Photographer’s Fight Against Loss of Female Identities

Bangladeshi photographer Habiba Nowrose's conceptual project aims to draw attention to the pressure Bangladesh society puts on women to always present their “beauty” in public. "Concealed," exposes the way women lose their identity, individuality and sense of self. The faces of her models are always fully covered, representing the stripping away, loss and erasure of the personal stories, traumas and individuality of each subject, the 29-year-old artist says.

This photo story offers a glimpse into the world of the "Concealed" through Habiba Nowrose's lens.
"The project started with only one audience in mind, me. I wanted to talk about my own experiences, my own feelings. But if you are honest with yourself, your journey will always touch other people, I always believed in that. And it has touched others in ways that I never imagined it would when I first started."
1
"The project started with only one audience in mind, me. I wanted to talk about my own experiences, my own feelings. But if you are honest with yourself, your journey will always touch other people, I always believed in that. And it has touched others in ways that I never imagined it would when I first started."
“Conceptual photography allows many different conversations to take place in one photograph. It can address issues in ways that photo journalism or documentary photography cannot. I have always been fascinated by being able to talk about a lot of things together in one photo story. Conceptual photography allows more space for different interpretations.”
2
“Conceptual photography allows many different conversations to take place in one photograph. It can address issues in ways that photo journalism or documentary photography cannot. I have always been fascinated by being able to talk about a lot of things together in one photo story. Conceptual photography allows more space for different interpretations.”
“I was going through a depression. There was a time when I was not believing in my work and my worth the way I should have. But when you do good work, it will always stay with you. After that phase of depression, after that phase of not valuing myself the way I should have, I realized, I wanted this work to speak about myself. Speak about the experiences I have been through. In that way, it has made me believe in myself again.”
3
“I was going through a depression. There was a time when I was not believing in my work and my worth the way I should have. But when you do good work, it will always stay with you. After that phase of depression, after that phase of not valuing myself the way I should have, I realized, I wanted this work to speak about myself. Speak about the experiences I have been through. In that way, it has made me believe in myself again.”
"The female curators have always been able to understand my work without me needing to explain it to them. Female curators, women working in the art world when they look at this body of work, they evaluate it as something they have experienced. They can relate to it. They can communicate with this photographic project. It talks to them."
4
"The female curators have always been able to understand my work without me needing to explain it to them. Female curators, women working in the art world when they look at this body of work, they evaluate it as something they have experienced. They can relate to it. They can communicate with this photographic project. It talks to them."

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