Mrinal Haque, a sculptor best known for making murals on the streets of Dhaka and an occasional subject of criticism from art connoisseurs and fundamentalists' wrath, has died at the age of 62, reports bbdnews24.com.
He breathed his last at his Gulshan home at around 2 am Saturday, said his associate and graphic designer Md Alamgir.
He had been suffering from a combination of ailments, including diabetes, according to Alamgir.
"His sugar and oxygen levels dropped last night."
Mrinal 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 done over 36,000 square foot of work in mosaic painting.
He went to the US in 1995 and started making sculptures. He returned to Bangladesh in 2002 and settled down permanently.
Afterwards, he built the 'Balaka sculpture in Motijheel on his own initiative. He created many sculptures across Dhaka city, which have long been subjects of 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.
An exhibition of his works, encompassing the themes of the Liberation War, was held at the Consulate of Bangladesh in New York City in celebration of the 28th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, according to his website.
Mrinal’s sculptures, mosaic paintings and murals can be found in many locations, including the gardens and streets of Jackson Heights in Queens, New York.
New York City Transit Authority had appointed him for several years for the creation of mosaics. His works were exhibited in 30 countries. He was featured twice in Osaka Bi-annual Art and Sculpture Exhibition in Japan and then again in France and India.
He held five solo exhibitions in Bangladesh, Singapore and Malaysia and many exhibitions in China. He was a seven-time participant of the Asian Bi-annual Art Exhibition. He also took part in the National Art Exhibition fourteen times and the National Sculpture Exhibition of Bangladesh seven times, according to his website.
Mrinal created a celebrity gallery in Gulshan filled with the sculptures of famous people. He later started rebuilding them in the face of criticism over the 'distorted' looks of many celebrities, including Shah Rukh Khan and Lionel Messi.
In 2016, a statue titled ‘Lady Justice,’ built by Mrinal, was erected in the Supreme Court premises. Afterwards, several Islamic organisations, including Hifazat-e-Islam, called for the removal of the sculpture.
The statue was removed from the front of the main building of the top court in 2017 and placed behind the Annex Building.
Various political, social, cultural, and student organisations protested the move and demanded the restoration of the statue. 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 the fundamentalists. The same year, Ulama Anjumane Al Bayenat activists vandalised the 'Balaka' sculpture in Motijheel.
