1958
Overview
Sheba Chhachhi is an Ethiopian-born Indian artist who works with lens-based images, both still and moving, to explore themes of gender, ecology, violence, and memory. Beginning as a photographer documenting the women's movement in India during the 1980s, she later transitioned to staged collaborative photographs and large multimedia installations. Her work often highlights marginalized groups, such as women and mendicants, and is created through participatory, performative processes.
Chhachhi frequently incorporates pre-modern iconography, myth, and visual traditions, blending these with contemporary issues. She has developed innovative moving image light boxes that layer mythic and social themes through translucent and transparent images, creating reflective, immersive environments that merge political and contemplative spaces.
Her work has been widely exhibited in both India and internationally, with pieces held in major collections like MoMA, Tate Modern, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Kiran Nadar Museum. She has participated in numerous international biennales and triennials and was a Townsend Fellow at UC Berkeley in 2005. Chhachhi has received prestigious awards, including the Singapore Art Museum Juror’s Prize (2011) and the Thun Prize for Art & Ethics (2018).
Born in Harar, Ethiopia, in 1958, Chhachhi studied at Delhi University, Chitrabani in Kolkata, and the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. She is also an educator and writer, actively engaging in both formal and informal teaching contexts.
Currently based in New Delhi, India.
