The Centurion Cinema Hall in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh is a gleaming, grimy palace falling into gentle ruin. Once a fluttering, lively epicenter of entertainment, the humble single screen cinema hall is long past its prime. The walls are chipped and covered in rust stains, spools of film decorate unswept piles of debris and garbage, and decades-old theater equipment whirrs on dutifully. However, the cinema hall’s ever-loyal patrons still cling to a glorious, picturesque past despite the new, less palatable reputation Centurion has earned of being a hub for drugs and prostitution. Ashfika Rahman, a young Bangladeshi photographer and artist, honored and immortalized her own fond memories of this eroding cultural gem in her series, aptly titled The Last Audience.
ASHFIKA RAHMAN: THE LAST AUDIENCE
by Summer Myatt | Musée Magazine
5 October 2020
