Page 143 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

140 ART AND CRAFTS

expression such as installation, performance, earth art, video installation etc. This is not
what happened in Bangladesh. Pure concept as art is not a notion which has found
acceptance in the Bangladesh art world. The expression of a concept or, as in most cases,
to express socio-political statements the materials, method and aesthetics of expression
appear to get greater importance than the concept in its purity. As other new innovations
and trends of western art, this new trend of art too has gained ground in Bangladesh.
This trend gains patronage from the developed world. Due to current globalization and the
revolution in information technology, artists can exchange ideas and participate in art
processes throughout the world without any difference in time.
Mahbubur Rahman was born in Dhaka in 1960. He studied painting in the Institute of Fine
Art and completed has MFA in 1993. He began to work on sculpture as a student and is
quite active from the nineties. The Bangladesh art world was introduced to installation,
performance and other new trends through his work. Traveling to different countries has
brought diversity to his expression. However, he works within the context of Bangladeshi
political and social problems. The subject of Mahbub’s work is the absurdities of reality,
violence and terror. Reality is presented in exaggerated form in his oversized and
grotesque human figures (pl. 2.34). The dramatic subject of his figure based sculptures is
sensational. In the early stages he constructed large and bloated figures. From the mid-
nineties he gradually abandoned this style.
Maynul Islam Paul (1966- ) has been creating sculpture in wood, cement and later, paper
representing organic and manmade forms (Plate 2.25). Nasima Haque Mitu (1967- )
creates simplified form mainly in woodcarving. From the year 2000 onwards Mitu’s work
has shown variety in material, a consciousness of heritage and symbolic representation.
Her work shows purity of form and a tendency to impart a final finishing to the material
(fig. 2.49). Sudipto Mallik Sweden (1969- ) completed his MFA from Chittagong
University in 1995. He blends a variety of materials in his forms, for example bamboo,
roots, paper and wood (pl. 2.28). The human head is the most frequently used form in his
work. Diversity in material and new trends are observed in the work of Imran Hossain
(1970- ) (pl. 2.31) , Kabir Ahmed Masum Chisty (1976- ) (pl. 2.30), Mukul Kumar Baroi
(1972- ), Md. Hasanur Rahman Reaz (1975- ) and others. Many of them use readily
available and ephemeral materials. Some of them have done installations. Nasimul Khabir
(1972- ) has created heritage conscious and significant work in the carving and modeling
processes using traditional materials (pl. 2.33). Farzana Islam Milky (1974- ) creates
simplified figural forms in cast metal (pl. 2.29).
The sculpture of Bangladesh is comparatively new so it is perhaps unwise to make any
final statements about it. Sculptors are few in numbers, the acceptance of sculpture is
limited and not above controversy in certain respects. Novera Ahmed is the pioneer of
sculpture in this land and her contribution is without doubt, an inspiration for the
following generations. Yet, there is a considerable gap between her and the next
generation in terms of time and concept. In the final analysis, it cannot be said that a
trend or order has been established. However, individual attempts and expressions are
of course notable.