Sajid Wajid Shaikh

Sajid Wajid Shaikh (b.1989) a multidisciplinary artist currently living and working in Mumbai, India.

Guided by a set of principles rooted in organic intuition, his practice takes on diverse forms, exploring a wide range of themes and mediums. Central to his practice is drawing, which he considers a source of cathartic and sensory responses to his surroundings. These unfiltered explorations draw inspiration from the concept of psychic automatism, tapping into the inner reflections of the subconscious. The resulting artworks often embrace abstract, distorted, and occasionally grotesque forms.

Recently, his practice has probed into political violence and the systems of power that wage war on bodies. With a keen interest in the interconnectedness of violence and defacement, he examines the notions of deconstruction and mutation of identity through the body, considering it not just as a physical form but as a dynamic locus of thought and conflict.

The defacement portrayed in his work takes on a grotesque representation, intentionally disconcerting and jarring to behold. This deliberate discomfort serves a dual purpose, eliciting both a poignant response and disgust. By challenging the ideas of humanity and empathy, the works expose the swiftly changing political landscape of India and its profound impact on the status quo.

With a practice in artmaking that spans a decade, his works have been shown at numerous exhibitions and public art projects where he has exhibited sculptures, conceptualized site specific installations as well as screened films he directed under his independent film production entity, Banal Films.

Most recently his works were exhibited at India Art Fair, 2024; Godrej Conscious Collective Program, 2023; Ephemeroptera: Time After Time at Tarq x Gallery XXL, 2023; OUTSIDERS at Gallery XXL, 2023; Mumbai Urban Art Festival, 2022; Future Proche at APRE Art House x The Upside Space, 2022; Masala Movement on Indernet, 2021; Tasawwur at Art + Charlie, 2020; LUX at Method Art Space, 2019; and at the Kona Art Project in 2019. Between 2019 and 2020, Shaikh was the recipient of two residencies, the Facebook Artist in Residency Program and at the Harkat Lab, supported by the Gujral Foundation.