Profile: Akash and Symbolism
G M B Akashfrom Homeless people in Germany
‘When I met the first homeless here,’ writes photographer G M B Akash on his arrival in Germany, ‘I was confused (. . .) Why are there homeless in one of the richest countries of the world?’
Bangladeshi photographer G M B Akash gives honest descriptions of poverty that escape cliché – they would never be seen heading a charity appeal. Yet he also infuses his images with symbolic power through careful composition.
In image from Homeless people in Germany, the incongruity of a homeless person, curled foetal, and the Nike logo, clean and indifferent, echos Akash’s amazement that there should be homeless in the world’s richest nations.
Meanwhile, in his study of people making a living out of the dump-yards of Bangladesh, black crows hang like symbols of death over the impoverished searchers.

