Shahria Sharmin’s ‘Call Me Heena’ Documents Bangladesh’s Hijra Community
In Dhaka, Shahria Sharmin, a visual artist and documentary photographer from Bangladesh, has unveiled 'Call Me Heena,' an artist book that delves into the Hijra community through striking black-and-white portraits. This project, which commenced in 2012 after her encounter with Heena, has developed over ten years. The book showcases images captured using a custom-built wooden street box camera and features a pop-out leporello, black pages with accompanying text, and an additional booklet, all crafted during the 2020 dienacht Publishing Workshop. It is divided into three chapters, including digital photographs and diptychs/triptychs. Sharmin, acknowledged by the British Journal of Photography and World Press Photo, is presently engaged in a project focusing on elderly sex workers in brothels. dienacht magazine published the book.
Key facts
- Shahria Sharmin’s artist book 'Call Me Heena' documents the Hijra community in Bangladesh.
- The project began in 2012 and evolved over more than a decade.
- Sharmin used a hand-built wooden street box camera for the photographs.
- The book design includes a pop-out leporello and black pages with text.
- The dummy was developed during the dienacht Publishing Workshop in 2020.
- Sharmin has a background in Public Administration.
- She is currently working on a project about elderly sex workers in Bangladesh brothels.
- Sharmin was named a British Journal of Photography Ones to Watch in 2025.
Entities
Artists
- Shahria Sharmin
- Heena
Institutions
- British Journal of Photography
- World Press Photo
- Pulitzer Center on Crisis
- Magnum Foundation
- Alexia Foundation
- Lensculture
- dienacht magazine
Locations
- Bangladesh
- Dhaka