Sanjid Mahmud
Sanjid Mahmud is a Bangladesh-born contemporary artist currently living in Vienna, Austria. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka and is now studying Performance Art at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Moving beyond conventional artistic practices, he works across diverse contemporary mediums and has developed a distinct visual language. His work is defined by expressive lines, an exploration of socio-political structures, reflections on human existence, and a keen observation of the rhythms of everyday public life.
Although he works with multiple mediums, Sanjid considers performance and body-based practices to be his primary mode of expressing ideas, philosophies, and lived experiences. As a performance artist, he explores the relationship between individual and society, the tension within the act of breathing, and the psychological weight of claustrophobia. His notable work Claustrophobia reflects on the suppression of free thought, the narrowing of open dialogue, and the longing for unrestricted human expression. In his words, “This idea speaks to a desperate urge—the intense feeling of wanting to take a deep breath but being unable to.”
Sanjid is a founding member of Daagi Art Garage, the Director of Chanderpur Art Residency, and the Project Coordinator of the Dhaka Live Art Biennale. His interdisciplinary practice merges lived experience, memory, and surreal imagination, creating works that are both personally intimate and socially resonant. Whether through spontaneous performances, intuitive drawings, or contemplative sculptures, he integrates art seamlessly into the flow of his everyday life.
As a Bangladeshi artist, he acknowledges the challenges of navigating the global art scene with limited international exposure. However, his participation in various international residencies has broadened his perspective and enabled him to reinterpret his experiences in new and dynamic ways. His ongoing artistic practice remains a continual journey of exploration, adaptation, and self-discovery.
