Zaki Shanaan

I was originally born in West London 1995, my heritage is a diverse mixture of Jamaican, African, Irish, French and English. I am also a wheelchair user.

During the time when I was little, I was diagnosed with cancer. Being diagnosed at a stage where I was only starting to understand about my surroundings, was a very hard thing to swallow as you can imagine. It opened a lot of different obstacles that I needed to overcome to get where I am today.

I use photography, painting, fashion, silkscreen, film and any media that lends itself to the layers of my narrative that I am unearthing on my journey towards a version of self-actualisation.

Through my art I map a way to create my own understanding of my journey and the effect that prevalent attitudes of ableism and racism have on me every single day and moment. Also my work facilitates a mode of communication from my internal to the external world which is a catalyst for connection.

My concept is AWARENESS. By giving voice to my experience as a mixed race and differently abled person, through my artistic practice I want to hold society to account and ask questions of those who look at my work, in order that they shift their understanding of what is like to be ‘different’ and labelled. When anyone in this country looks at me the first things they see are my wheelchair and my colour. I know that there is a lot of fear in the reactions to both those who are black or mixed race and those who have disabilities. We are so often ignored and swept under the carpet and presented ( even worse ) as a deficit model of a so-called ‘ideal human being’ . So…. My work is LOUD on purpose. I want people to see and hear what I have to say. In essence, the ultimate purpose of my work is to shift understanding and be a catalyst for social change. 

My starting point for my work is that I invite my audience to reflect upon the way in which those with disabilities and those who are black are viewed by the majority white and able- bodied society.

I use photography, painting, fashion, silk screen, printmaking, film and any media that lends itself to the layers of my narrative which I am unearthing on my journey towards my version of self-actualisation. In my work I express, explore and elaborate upon what I see as the reality of my lived experience. 

When I was 18 months old, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour in the lining of my brain stem. My life started to move and shift into a new dimension from then on. When I was four, I had an unexplained brain bleed which meant that I was no longer able to walk. I became a wheelchair user. 

Through my art I map a way to create my own understanding of my journey this far, in order that I might continue to challenge myself to discover my own personhood day by day.