About
I am Sujay Swadi Sanan. I grew up in the Himalayas and now live in Cape Town with my partner and son. I have been fascinated by the natural world for as long as I can remember. Drawing has been a way for me to show appreciation for the living planet.
I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design from the National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad) India and thereafter co founded Quick Brown Fox. I have always incorporated illustration into my commercial work and that gradually led me to seek my own voice. I began working on my first body of work as an artist after moving to South Africa in 2013. Since then I have exclusively worked on my art.
CURRENT BODY OF WORK
Ultramarine
2020 – In his third solo show in Cape Town, Sujay presents a visual interpretation of some of the more enigmatic inhabitants of our African marine ecosystems. The graphite drawings on show are an ode to the large sharks and cetaceans that roam the oceans around the Cape coastline.
Exhibiting 31 Oct – 20 Nov 2020
11h00 – 16h00 | 6 Spin Street, Cape Town
PREVIOUS WORK
A Place I Know
2018 – ‘A Place I Know’ began as a few water colour paintings of wild spaces contiguous with urban environments around the Western Cape.
My works document landscapes seen through the species that inhabit them. Some of the places I have painted are familiar and close to where I live, while in others I have found myself as a momentary visitor. While these works document what I fear might be lost, they are also filled with optimism.
Kindred
2016 – The Ecosystem Series of drawings and paintings were hosted for a month long exhibition at the Sustainability Institute in Stellenbosch.
Imagine A Forest
2016 – As every individual species is supported by the inter–relationships between many life forms, none can exist in isolation. In this way, each one of animals that you will explore in these works is made up of hundreds of animals and plants. What you see is an imaginative interpretation of scientific data using pen, ink and brush.
The importance of environmental conservation has been established in the public imagination by the use of a few keystone species. Animals like Rhinos, Gorillas and Tigers have come to signify the finite and conditional existence of living species. More people have been made to understand the impact that human existence has had on the natural environment. Yet, there remains a great need to see that life is sustained by dynamic interconnected relationships between organisms and their environments.
Follow my journey
