Sheila is an artist of Indian/English mixed heritage, whose solo and collaborative performances, social art works, installations, texts and videos seek to illuminate and make visible the connections between identity, ecology, science, history and the present day.
Since 1995 her attentive, detailed and care ‘full’ practice has been cross-pollinating ideas, materials, people and places in order to un-settle dominant narratives and make space for those that are (or that which is) in-between, on the edge, in the middle, at the border.
Originally trained in contemporary dance, Sheila is interested in the relationship between art and science with particular focus on care and hybridity. She is an artist who champions making work for the passer-by.
She has made and shown work at venues and festivals across Europe including Belluard Bollwerk International in Switzerland, Fierce Festival in Birmingham, NRLA in Glasgow, Trouble Festival in Brussels, Performance Space in Sydney, Heart of Glass in St Helens and Wellcome Collection in London.
As a collaborative artist she is a long-standing Associate Artist of Blast Theory and has toured and performed nationally and internationally for them and many other companies (Duckie, Rajni Shah Theatre, Pacitti Company). She also teaches in Academic contexts and regularly mentors artists and students and gives public talks.
Sheila is an Associate Artist for Clod Ensemble's Performing Medicine Project, a member of several self-initiated artists groups and was an Associate Research Fellow in the School of Arts at Birkbeck 2015 - 2019.
Sheila was also part of Land Body Ecologies 2021 - 2023. The Land Body Ecologies Research Group is the fourth collaborative residency group in Wellcome Collection’s Hub since 2014.
Sheila is currently an AA2A resident artist at Loughborough University in their School of Design and Creative Arts (23-24 and 24-25) and a studio holder at Modern Painters, New Decorators.
Installing Covet Me Care For Me at Bethesda Chapel, Stoke (2015) Photograph by Elaine Titley
Common Salt (2019) at Queen’s House Royal Museums Greenwich, Photograph by John Hunter
Selected residencies:
Somerset Earth Sciences Centre 2024 * Wellcome Hub 2021-2023 * Monsoon Assemblages digital residency (University of Westminster School of Architecture) 2021 * University of Reading (Dept of Film, Theatre & Television) * Institute of Place at University of Winchester * Edges & Contours Lab at Unbox Festival Bangalore, India 2019 * B-side Project Space 2017 * ARC, Switzerland x5 times 2016-2018 * Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts 2016 * Undercurrent Slow-Boat Residency Oct-Dec 2013 in Shoreham by Sea * Ealing Council Artist-in-Residence at Pitzhanger Manor & Walpole Park May-July 2013 * Artist in Residence at Blast Theory Studios in November 2009, February 2010, May 2012, Oct 2013, May 2015 *
Softly/Tenderly at Fierce Festival (2024), Photograph by Manuel Vason
Artist Sue Palmer
Sheila regularly works with artist Sue Palmer - most notably as part of their current work Common Salt, developed over four years of research into the colonial and geographical history of England and India using nature as their guide. Sheila and Sue began collaborating on the idea for Common Salt in 2013, investigating a thread of connected narratives, originally inspired by the hedgerow, as part of Sheila’s two-year Rambles with Nature project. Sheila & Sue are currently making a sister work to Common Salt called Atmospheric Forces.
Artist / Lighting Designer Marty Langthorne
Another regular collaborator is Marty Langthorne who has worked with Sheila since 2004. He has created lighting designs for shows at a range of venues, including the Southbank Centre, Sadlers Wells and Barbican Theatre as well as in multiple site specific and gallery contexts. With Sheila he has worked on Grafting & Budding, White Squall, Sugar Sugar White, Give Me Land Lots of Land, Nurse Knows Best, Covet Me Care For Me, Rat Rose Bird, Rambles with Nature, Sulphur and most recently Softly/Tenderly at Fierce Festival 2024.
Artist John Hunter (aka RULER)
John Hunter is an artist, photographer, videographer and designer working in theatre, portrait and fashion editorial. John’s photography has appeared in Time Out magazine, The Stage, British Theatre Guide, BBC News, Telegraph online, designed for Barbican BITE and Sundance Film Festival. A long-term collaborator, John designed the publication Rambles With Nature and produced a series of films for the performance work Sulphur. John designed the book and marketing material for Common Salt, Sheila’s Checklist of Care and her recent Softly/Tenderly booklet (which formed part of the work).
“Where often audiences expect to see the odd un-sanded edge or unpeeled label there are none, and the attention to detail is striking.”
“In a multi-layered performance, Ghelani makes fascinating use of multi-media forms.”