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Published : 23 Aug 2020, 03:38 PM
Even before he began his career as a sculptor, Haque had been hounded by controversy for his reported involvement with a student political group.
The much-discussed sculptor died at his home in Dhaka’s Gulshan in the early hours of Saturday. He had been suffering from various ailments, including diabetes.
Renowned sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan said Haque had been one of his students.
Haque was born in Rajshahi in 1958. He got admitted to Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts in 1977. He earned his master’s degree in 1984.
He worked primarily with clay, marble, plaster, cement, bronze, copper, terracotta and wood. He had created over 36,000 square foot of mosaic paintings.
Haque began sculpting after moving to the US in 1995. He returned home in 2002 before settled down permanently in Bangladesh.
Afterwards, he created the 'Balaka sculpture' in Motijheel on his own initiative. He is also responsible for many other sculptures across Dhaka city, which have long been subjected to criticism for their aesthetic values and lack of opacity.
Some of his works include 'Ratnadip', in front of the Prime Minister's Office, 'Rajoshik' near Hotel Intercontinental, 'Janani O Gorbito Bornomala' at Paribagh intersection, and 'Kotoyal’ in Eskaton.
The magazine Art Beat had published an article title “Drishti Dushon” or Visual Pollution, criticising the works of Haque, said Shamsul Alam Azad, principal of Narayanganj Fine Art Institute.
Khan said Haque knew the faults in his works. “He used to talk to me about these. It’s not that all the works of everyone will be good. Many of our works faced adverse reaction too.”
“When we put our works out in the open, they become public property. It is natural to draw criticism as you can’t keep the people’s mouths shut,” Khan said.
“He [Haque] tried to beautify the city, but we must be careful while working on urban beautification,” he added.
The statue was removed from the main building of the top court in 2017 and placed behind the Annex Building.
Various political, social, cultural, and student organisations have since protested the move and demanded the restoration of the statue to its original place.
Demonstrations took place in the Dhaka University area and clashes broke out between protesters and police. The law enforcers went on to arrest four protesters, including Liton Nandi, the general secretary of Chhatra Union.
Top writers, professors and artists in the country also expressed their discontent over the removal of the sculpture. They called the move a 'surrender to the fundamentalist forces’ and demanded the reinstatement of the statue.
Earlier in 2008, the government removed Mrinal’s ‘Lalon’ sculpture near the Dhaka airport in response to the demands of fundamentalists. The same year, Ulama Anjumane Al Bayenat activists vandalised the 'Balaka' sculpture in Motijheel.
দেশের ঐতিহ্যকে তুলে ধরতে রাজধানীর বিভিন্ন সড়ক দ্বীপে ভাস্কর্য স্থাপন করা হলেও এগুলো এখন ব্যানার-ফেস্টুন লাগানোর ‘উপযুক্ত’ স্থানে পরিণত হয়েছে। মতিঝিল বাণিজ্যিক এলাকার বলাকা ভাস্কর্যের এই আলোকচিত্রটি বুধবার তোলা। ছবি: আসাদুজ্জামান প্রামানিক/ বিডিনিউজ টোয়েন্টিফোর ডটকম
Mukul Kumar Barai, chairman of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, believes all of Haque’s sculptures, except Balaka at Motijheel, were “substandard”. “But he had a tremendous ability to work, he was dynamic.”
After enrolling in the university in the late 1970s, Haque joined Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the BNP’s student wing. He also became the cultural affairs secretary of the organisation’s central committee.
His father Professor Ekramul Haque was an adviser to BNP founder Ziaur Rahman. Ekramul Haque’s son-in-law Aminul Haque had been a minister of the BNP government.
Ghulam Quddus, the president of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote and a former acting vice-president of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, said the authorities should be held responsible for allowing Haque to sculpt works that drew criticism.
“But as a cultural worker, I am always against attack on sculptures and other works of art. We had protested against the attacks on his works as well,” he added.
“Few artists of his time had as much dynamic creativity as he had. He took me to his gallery of celebrities, though I don’t know whether to call those sculptures,” Ghosh said.
“But he always wanted to make Dhaka a beautiful city full of artistic works. He always thought about it. He must be given credit for this,” he added.
