Sid·dha /ˈsɪd.hə/ noun · [Sanskrit]
One who has achieved a state of enlightenment and perfection through Sadhana, the devotion to a practice
Siddhh /ˈsɪd̪.d̪h/ noun
The art - a manifestation of this philosophy
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Biography
Sidharth Shah is a painter and engineer based in Boston, MA. His artwork confronts the impact of humans on the biota of the world through the lens of extinction and zoochosis. Shah primarily paints large-format watercolors, and sporadically creates charcoal drawings and acrylic paintings.
He has exhibited in group shows in Boston and New York City, and his practice was the subject of a documentary, Beauty and the Bats by Emma Hagert, which won the Best Video award at the 2023 Boston Press Photographers Association's contest for college students. Shah was born in India, and earned his B.Tech. and M.S. in Computer Engineering, and worked as a chip designer for many years. He graduated with an MFA in Painting from Boston University in May of 2024
Artist Statement
"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world" - John Muir
Human. From the Latin root humus, meaning "of the earth". My drawings and watercolor paintings address the irony of this word through examining precariously balanced ecosystems and the repercussions of extinction, to confront humanity's abject callousness towards our known 8.7 million species.
My creative process is a metaphor for ecological holism. Line, form, and color become symbiotic organisms that coalesce into a visual ecosystem upon the paper's surface as Art. Some of my drawings are made on a delicate, uncrumpled packing paper (reclaimed from a personal move in 2011) — the ephemerality of this substrate acts as a metonym for the fragility of my subjects. The paper will eventually yellow and crumble through oxidation - these are drawings that can and will become extinct, unless cared for.
Evolution takes many wrong turns, and the indelible and transparent nature of watercolor exposes this slippage, implicating the actions of my hand. The pigments and fibers are fugitive with organic lifespans and need to be handled with care from creation to preservation.
Tangentially, I examine the psychosis that wild animals experience under captivity. Zoochosis subverts millions of years of evolution, and my art captures the psychological weight of barriers and the neuroses that confinement inflicts. Animals should remain free and in the wild.
My ambition is for the viewing experience to transcend the visual and move into a visceral, emotional realm that rejects apathy, nurtures compassion, and compels the viewer to reconsider humanity’s onus towards all forms of life on Earth.
Curriculum Vitae
Sidharth.resume.pdfPage updated
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