Shezad Dawood is a multidisciplinary artist who interweaves stories, realities and symbolism to create richly layered artworks, spanning painting, textiles, sculpture, film and digital media. Fascinated by ecologies and architecture, his work takes a philosophical approach, asking questions and exploring alternative futures through what Dawood describes as ‘world- building’. His practice is animated by research, working with multiple audiences and communities to delve into narrative, history and embodiment.
Selected solo exhibitions and commissions include: Leviathan, Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury (2023); Night in the Garden of Love, Inspired by & featuring Yusef Lateef, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (2023); Leviathan: We go elsewhere, The Void, Derry (2023); Leviathan: From the Forest to the Sea, Touchstones, Rochdale (2023); Night in the Garden of Love, Inspired by & featuring Yusef Lateef, WIELS, Brussels (2023); Sea of Redemption, Shezad Dawood x Zien (2023); Integrations, Barakat Contemporary, Seoul (2023); HMS Alice Liddell, St. Pancras Wires commission, London (2022); Hybrid Landscapes, Deutsche Bank Frieze Lounges (2022); Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai (2021); Visions of Paradise, commission for The White House, Becontree (2021); Concert From Bangladesh, commission for British Council Digital Collaboration Fund (2021); Timothy Taylor, London (2020-21); Kai Art Center, Tallinn (2020); New Art Exchange, Nottingham (2020); The Bluecoat Liverpool (2019); MOCA Toronto (2019); FriezeLIVE, London (2019); Kunstverein, Munich (2019); A Lost Future: Rubin Museum of Art, New York (2018); Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice (2017); Timothy Taylor, London (2016); Galerist, Istanbul (2016); Pioneer Works, Brooklyn (2015); Fig.2 at the ICA studio, London (2015); Parasol Unit, London (2014); Leeds Art Gallery and OCAT Xi’an, China (both 2014); Modern Art Oxford (2012).
Selected group exhibitions and commissions include: Manar, Abu Dhabi (2023); Guest Relations, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai (2023); Qatar Museums, Doha (2022); DesertX AlUla, KSA (2022); Toronto Biennial of Art (2022); Sea Art Festival, Busan (2021); Paradise Row, London (2021); Folkestone Triennial (2021); Guggenheim, New York (2021); Southbank Centre, London (2020- 21); Boghossian Foundation – Villa Empain (2020); WIELS Bruxelles (2020); Manifesta 13 (2020); Lahore Biennial (2020); Dhaka Art Summit (2020); Sharjah Biennial 14, UAE (2019) – Jury Prize for Encroachments; Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea (2018); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2016); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2015); Taipei Biennial (2014); Marrakech Biennial (2014); MACBA Barcelona (2014); Witte de With (2013); Busan Biennale (2010); Tate Triennial: Altermodern (2009); Venice Biennale (2009).
Selected collections include Guggenheim; Arts Council Collection; Tate; UBS; LACMA, Los Angeles; National Gallery of Canada; Government Art Collection, UK; US Government Art Collection; The British Museum, London; Sharjah Art Foundation; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi; Rubin Museum of Art, New York; and Mathaf, Doha.
His film works have been screened internationally, including at the ICA, London; MoMA, New York, Guggenheim, New York, and at various film festivals including CPH:DOX, Sharjah Biennial 14 (awarded Special Mention Jury Prize 2019); Oberhausen, Aesthetica (awarded Artist’s Film Prize 2015); his 2013 Feature Film, Piercing Brightness, was released theatrically and on Blu-Ray/DVD by Soda Pictures.
Shezad Dawood was born in London in 1974 and trained at Central St Martin’s and the Royal College of Art before undertaking a PhD at Leeds Metropolitan University. Dawood is a Research Fellow in Experimental Media at the University of Westminster. He lives and works in London.
Image Credit: Still from Shezad Dawood, Leviathan Cycle, Episode 8: Cris, Sandra, Papa & Yasmine, 2023. Single screen, HD video, 17:46.
Commissioned by Hybrid Futures (a multi-part collaboration focusing on climate, sustainability, collaborative learning and co-production between Castlefield Gallery, Manchester; Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool; Touchstones Rochdale; University of Salford Art Collection and Shezad Dawood Studio, and generously supported by Arts Council England and Art Fund), Leviathan — Human & Marine Ecology Ltd, Void Gallery, Derry.
