Shiraz Sadikeen has been announced as the eighth New Zealand artist to undertake a residency at Gasworks in London, commencing in October 2024.
The three month, fully funded residency has been made possible through the support of the Jan Warburton Charitable Trust, the British Council Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific, Emma Lewisham and private individuals who contribute to New Zealand Friends of Gasworks.
Natasha Beckman, Director of the British Council Aotearoa New Zealand and Pacific, says “This is unique opportunity for Shiraz to expand and refine his artistic skills in London, a city known for its diversity and vibrant visual arts community. Embodying the essence of cultural exchange, a core value of the British Council, through this residency we know that Shiraz will share valuable insights about Aotearoa with others during his time in London.”
Shiraz Sadikeen lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He makes paintings and sculptures that mediate their own conditions of production and reception. Often made using ready-made or found materials, as well as various processes of abstraction and formal displacement, Shiraz’s work explores the associations between these objects and the situations from which they originally derive.
During his residency at Gasworks, Shiraz will research the current political, economic and ideological circumstances of the United Kingdom, reflecting on its changing relationship to Aotearoa New Zealand.
This will be the eighth consecutive Gasworks Residency for a New Zealand artist. Previous artists in residence at Gasworks are Sriwhana Spong, Katrina Beekhuis, Hikalu Clarke, Christina Pataialii, Sarah Rose, Campbell Patterson and in 2023 Sorawit Songsataya.