Annual Sculpture Exhibition 2024 opens at Dhaka University

The Department of Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, inaugurated its Annual Sculpture Exhibition 2024 on November 2. This year’s event carried special significance as the awards were dedicated to the memory of sculptor Abdur Razzaque, one of the department’s founding professors, whose legacy continues to inspire generations of Bangladeshi artists. The exhibition featured works from students across all departments and classes, with two rooms of Zainul Gallery filled with sculptures and artworks in diverse media.

The first prize was awarded to Prottoy Saha, a second-year BFA student from the Department of Sculpture, for his animation Croyance Trompeuse. He calls it an “Animation based on my own delusions”. Presented in a first-person perspective, it explores the intersection between personal experience and imaginative distortion. The piece was created on a fifth-generation iPad using a stylus pen, consisting of 234 separate drawings that together form a two-minute, four-second film.

Saha’s second work, Untitled, further demonstrated his narrative sensibility. Executed in 2D animation using Blender and consisting of 190 frames, it began as a monochrome experiment that translated loss and memory into visual form. In the words of Prottoy, the project gained deeper resonance following the death of his grandmother, Dida, on October 24. Only eight days later, he received the award for his animation, a work he dedicated to both grandparents, who had encouraged his pursuit of fine arts. Most of the works displayed came from second-year students, with a focus on sculpture, while first-year students presented paintings and basic design projects.

The Experimental Best Award went to Suprio Kumar Ghosh, an MFA student of the 2023–24 session, for his terracotta sculpture of a middle-aged man. The earthen medium emphasised a tactile realism and an expression of fatigue, contemplation, and resignation with remarkable subtlety.

The Media Best Award was given to Sumit Roy, a fourth-year undergraduate student, for his wooden piece Ek, depicting two halves of a broken whole. The diversity of materials was what stood out in the exhibition, with works ranging from Sabrina Zawad Ritu’s Distorted fish in resin to Alok Kumar Sarkar’s Naval Rest in iron, and Fatema Tuz Nishat Fawzia’s Women made out of X-ray films.

Works by women artists, in particular, left a strong impression. Even before looking at the names, it was often possible to identify which pieces were created by female students. Among them, Faiza Fairuz’s Discomfort particularly caught my eye. Made from paper-mâché, it depicted a slouched silhouette in oversized high heels, an image depicting exactly what the title says: Discomfort.

The Professor Abdur Razzaque Award was awarded to Chinmoy Ghosh for his sculpture Inexplicable, portraying a newborn’s body wrapped in a blanket, limbs extended outward while the head remained concealed.

On November 5, a feature film was screened to commemorate Professor Abdur Razzaque’s 93rd birth anniversary, honouring his contribution as one of the founding professors of the Department of Sculpture. The exhibition, open daily from 11am to 7pm, will continue through November 8.