At the heart of his practice lies a political and ecological urgency: Zakir believes that human ego and modern “progress” often come at the cost of nature’s habitats, and he embeds these convictions in his work. He collects discarded materials, plastics, tree trunks, and urban detritus — and turns them into sculptures and environments that ask us to reflect on our complicity with environmental destruction.
In his drawing and graphic work, his style is characterised by strong lines, simplified forms, metallic and bright colours. These visual choices evoke alternate times and layered realities, aligning with his broader themes of transformation and impermanence.
Down‑to‑earth by nature, Zakir maintains a deep connection with people and place. His art is not only about exhibition but about lived experience and protest, rooted in the belief that we are part of nature, not separate from it. His commitment gives his work both poetic resonance and quiet activism.
This articulate merging of social, environmental, and cosmic concerns marks Syed Muhammad Zakir as one of Bangladesh’s thoughtful and engaged contemporary artists.
Syed Muhammad Zakir is a Dhaka‑based visual artist whose work reaches far beyond traditional gallery boundaries. Born in 1975 in Rangpur and trained in sculpture at the fine arts faculty of the University of Dhaka, he launched his practice in the mid‑1990s with performance and site‑specific works. Zakir chooses public spaces, streets, and natural sites as his main “canvas” — inviting passers‑by and the environment into his work. He uses performance, land art, installations, and large‑scale drawings to pose existential questions about desire, ego, and our cosmic journey. His work provocatively links the human and the non‑human, exposing our entanglement with nature and the myths of our self‑importance.
