Lives and works in Nairobi
Sujay Shah's practice reflects on intermingled cultural ideologies, myths and histories, and questions how we can cope with the colonial pasts that are built into our surroundings. In his recent paintings, Shah deconstructs, satirises and critiques some of the harmful legacies of colonialism through the lens of big game trophy hunting. The presence of certain objects in Kenyan homes, country clubs and Safari lodges, such as skin rugs and mounted animal heads, serve as a haunting reminder of this violent history. In his fictitious dioramas and still lives, acts of brutality go side by side with luxury items, such as Victorian objects, silverware and candelabras, challenging notions of what it means to be "civilised". Intertwining horror, humour and surrealism, the exasperated animals are subjected to various states of disrespect, further undermining and trivialising the convoluted nature of these hunts. By referring to aspects of museum display, different moments are merged into a single image, analogous to how the perception and romance of Africa has been fabricated, exoticized and stereotyped: images which still perpetuate and haunt us today.
Shah graduated with a BFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2013. After college he lived in New York, working as a studio assistant for artists Paul Bloodgood and Anne Chu. Shah has exhibited in the US - in Savannah, Georgia and New York - and in France. His work is featured in the permanent collection of the Savannah College of Art and Design. In Kenya, his group exhibitions include Fictions, Circle Art Gallery, 2022; Various Small Fires, Circle Art Gallery, 2021; I Will See What I Want To See, Circle Art Gallery, 2019; If Not Now, the Cave Bureau, 2018. In 2022, he was awarded a Venice travel fellowship by Wangechi Mutu Studio.
