Artcite Inc. is excited to engage Shaheer Zazai through Option+Shift, a series of online talks with artists and curators whose practices represent some of the diverse range of digital media perspectives being explored today. Working in animation, video, GIFs and other unexpected or unconventional use of media, these speakers help us think expansively and imagine different possibilities within our increasingly digital, COVID reality. 

 Shaheer Zazai is a Toronto based Afghan-Canadian artist with a current studio practice both in painting and digital media. His practice focuses on exploring and attempting to investigate the development of cultural identity in the present geopolitical climate and diaspora.

The digital works revolves around Microsoft Word and imagery drawn from traditional Afghan carpets. Through mimicking carpet-making methods, Zazai creates his own designs in Microsoft Word, where every knot of a carpet is translated into a typed character.

 Zazai received a BFA from OCAD University in 2011 and was the OCAD University Digital Painting Atelier Artist in Residence in 2015 for the production of his first Digital Carpet. He is also a recipient of Ontario Arts Council grants. Zazai has several solo and group exhibitions such as those at the Walper Hotel in Kitchener curated by CAFKA, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Hazelton Lanes Art Festival, Double Happiness Projects and Patel Brown Gallery. Zazai was also a finalist for EQ Bank’s Emerging Digital Artist Award in 2018. His recent notable exhibitions are his solo exhibition at Capacity 3 Gallery in Guelph hosted by Ed Video, group exhibition at Gelnhyrst Art Gallery of Brant curated by Matthew Ryan Smith and the most recent solo exhibition ‘A Study in Human Error’ at Patel Brown Gallery. His digital works has been covered by CBC Arts in 2018, Ajam Media Collective in 2019 and Globe and Mail in 2020.'

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