R.B. Shajith ( b. 1981, Malappattam, Kerala) learnt mural painting from Kerala Sanskrit University and graduated in MFA ( major in painting) from the Fine Arts College in Thiruvananthapuram. He draws his artistic influence from a diverse range of painting practices ranging from Mughal miniatures to French impressionists like Monet, Van Gogh as well as post-impressionist painters like Paul Gauguin, and the pop art of David Hockney. Rooted in the lush landscapes of North Malabar, Shajith’s practice transforms the rural environments of Kannur into vivid meditations on memory, place, and ecological change in the face of state-led development initiatives.
Working through richly layered paintings, he brings together dense foliage, areca palms, houses, animals, and traces of human presence, evoking landscapes shaped by lived experience, local histories, and the shifting rhythms of the natural world. One of 10 artists from Kerala selected to represent India at the Kochi Biennale in 2026, his striking 50 ft painting ‘Wiping Out’ won him popular acclaim at the event.