Sanchita Islam (28 April 1973 – 3 July 2023) was an English artist, painter, writer and filmmaker of Bangladeshi descent. In 1999, she founded Pigment Explosion, which branched out into projects including film, painting, drawing, writing and photography. Click here for Sanchita's full CV.
In 1996, Sanchita graduated from the London School of Economics, University of London with a BSc in International History and a MSc in Comparative Politics. In 1998, she completed an MA in Directing and Screenwriting sponsored by Channel 4 at the Northern Media School at Sheffield Hallam University. She then enrolled for BA in Fine Art Practice and Theory of Visual Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design and dropped out in her second year.
From 1996 to 1998, Sanchita had a short career working as researcher in television for London Weekend Television.
In 1998, Sanchita participated in the group show 000 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Later, during a show of her drawings and paintings, she was told she would have to be at the gallery full-time. Sanchita decided to take her practice to the public.
People came to the gallery and were more interested in watching her paint, which urged Sanchita to combine live painting, live visuals and live music. In January 1999, Pigment Explosion was initially set up to perform live art events, but came to specialise in international art projects. Since 1999, Pigment Explosion branched out into projects that include film, painting, drawing, writing and photography.
Sanchita did nearly 100 group and solo shows in London, Paris, New York and Bangladesh. She published 10 books and wrote two plays as well as reading tours with writers like Irvine Welsh and Miranda Sawyer. She worked with the British Council, on projects with the elderly, workshops in schools and with disadvantaged children. She directed and/or produced 15 films, and screened her work in London, New York, Bangladesh, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, India, Brussels, Pakistan, Frankfurt. Her films and books, which combine text and drawings, were funded by the Arts Council, BBC, British Council and Commonwealth Institute.
She was an artist in residence at the Whitechapel Art Gallery between 2003 and 2004, she was artist in residence at the Open Gallery from 2004 to 2008, and also worked as an artist in residence at TVF Media from 2004 to 2009. She was also artist in resident at Artscape and Shoreditch House and her art featured in various venues around London such as Sketch and Mark Hix's restaurant.
The below obituary appeared in The Sunday Times on 30th September 2023.
