In Egypt, British colonial authorities prioritized cotton cultivation, drastically altering local farming practices. In Algeria and Morocco, French colonial policies enforced the cultivation of cash crops like wheat and wine grapes, often at the expense of local food sovereignty and biodiversity. In Lebanon, an emphasis on monoculture and cash crops contributed to the Great Famine during World War I.
Bangladesh too, was no exception to colonial exploitation, where British colonial rule imposed the cultivation of cash crops like indigo and jute, directly contributing to 1944 Bengal Famine. The country—and colonial exploitation at large—is at the heart of Munem Wasif’s exhibition “Seeds Shall Set Us Free,” held at Norway’s longest-running photography space Fotogalleriet Oslo, marking the artist’s first showcase in the Nordics.

Going beyond documentation, Wasif’s work can be said to function as a visual confrontation with the colonial histories that have shaped and continue to devastate the agricultural landscape, while highlighting the resilience of indigenous practices. He does so with cyanotype prints of rice grains, taking viewers to a world where the incredibly wide variety of local seeds never ceased to exist, each still bearing a local name and cherished as a “companion species to humanity.”
He looks at the grain not as mere daily sustenance. He references its ties to religious ceremonies, as an offering made to deities during Nabanna, an ancient harvest celebration, to thank them for a successful season. He also presents its associations to the world of art, particularly the Bengali practice of ritual floor painting using rice paste. Prior to viewing his works, it would have been difficult for any spectator to humanize a singular grain of rice. Wasif makes the promise that it is possible—even crucial in the modern fight against industrial food technologies.

His prints are accompanied by archival materials, photographs, and installations, presenting a thorough investigation into the cultural history of the grain, cementing notions of impermanence and insecurity. This blend is rooted in long-term immersion with his subjects, thanks to close contact he established with local communities, farmers, and Nayakrishi Andolon, one of the largest community grain banks that opposes the use of Western agricultural methods.

At Fotogralleriet, Wasif reveals notions of impermanence and insecurity, reflecting an urgent need to preserve and promote traditional varieties of rice and other crops. If countering the homogenizing forces of industrial agriculture weren’t in focus, the stark realities he presents make its urgency clear. And if not, viewers might find an emotional connection, even with a singular grain of rice.