Sid Chidiac : The Chocolate Painter 

Chocolate, the irresistible sensation that makes your taste buds scream for more, has only been a food to date. If you think that chocolate is only a food, you will have to change your thoughts from now on. Sid Chidiac, alias the Chocolate Painter is an exception to the world of painting and sculpture. Of course we are living in the 21st century, the age of technology, but nobody would have ever thought that chocolate would end up being a medium for paintings and sculptures. Firstly let’s see a brief introduction about Sid.

About Sid Chidiac

Sid was born in Sydney, Australia and has moved to Lebanon with his family when he was five. Growing up near the museum of Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, his works inspired Sid throughout his childhood. At 23, Sid started his creative endeavours by experimenting with coloured glass. In 1995, Sid began studying at The Julian Ashton Art School, which is a unique and historic school established in 1890 that remains one of Australia’s finest schools of art. Since he had a passion for trying out new things the idea for chocolate paintings had started when he wanted to do an edible portrait of a diverse group of people in chocolate. His first show of chocolate portraits was entitled Flavour of New York and was exhibited at the Sixth Annual Chocolate Show in Manhattan. Sid plans to pursue his work in both chocolate and oil. His oil paintings vary greatly in response to what people commission from him.

In a casual interview with the Daily Mirror Life, Sid spoke about his background, inspirations and most importantly what attracts him to Sri Lanka. Following are the excerpts:

What inspired you to do paintings in chocolate?

I moved from Sydney to New York, which is the heartbeat of the world and here you need to do something different to keep your heads up. In fact no one can resist chocolate. I decided to try out my talents with chocolate. If someone doesn’t like chocolate then he is lying. When I was in Los Angeles I was doing some paintings and everybody started calling me the ‘chocolate painter’.

How do you find such large supplies of chocolate?

Berry Callebaut, one of the largest chocolate manufacturing companies in the world is my sponsor. Their chocolate is quite is easy to work with. It’s rich in cocoa and is the best chocolate you can ever put your hands on.

What attracts you to Sri Lanka?

I came here 15 years ago and had a time of my life. I love shopping and Sri Lanka is ideal for it. If possible I would also like to do an exhibition, may be as a charity event to raise funds for a good cause. Also I would like to mention the fact that Sri Lankans are very kind, gentle, and honest and they are always smiling.

Any message for all artists?

Life is all about happiness and carrying a negativity within you is like carrying a rock inside. When you get rid of all negativity, you can find happiness. So always focus on yourself. To me, no creation is ugly because it’s the creation of the artist. People complain, but art never complains.

For more information about Sid and his work please visit www.sidchidiac.com.

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe