Ishmael is a Brooklyn native artist, born mid 80’s and
raised in the early 90s in New York City, a time of
shifting paradigms in arts between haves and have-nots.
At the time African Americans pushing forward in the
public art game, where you had major figures like Jean
Michel Basquiat and Gordan Parks. Shifting climate in
what was once minority middle class neighbourhoods, that
were destroyed first by drugs then starting to be gentrified
by upper-class kids from midwest. Ishmael is one of five
kids raised by a single parent who was a school teacher,
and active in local and national political organizations.
He started his political training in various youth political
organization, as well as being immersed in the changing
culture around him. He began seriously pursuing
photography as a means of expression after college.
Ishmael has been photographing now for the past seven years. His work combines elements from his
academic, personal and professional background in Mathematics, Art History, creative installations and
costumes design. He weaves his influences together out of various movements including Surrealism,
Pop Art, Italian Futurist, and Afro-Futurist which give a unique form to his vision and results in works
that are both colourful and spiritual, with surrealist undertones. He uses his art as a means of political
expression, exploring themes such as race, gender, politics,
finding or creating moments, and
discovering harmony and balance within images. He uses newer styles as well as old, in addition to
layers of both film and digital photographer and printing. He is particularly inspired by, among others,
Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman, Erwin Blumenfeld and Louise Dahl-Wolfe. With a constant appetite for
learning about new shifts in art movements, new artists, global politics, nature, weather change and
colour theory, Ishmael aims to push his professional boundaries. Working on various series he
incorporates several different forms of photography to tell a story such
as (migration project, dealing with current migration in Europe). Using a mix of influences, skills, and imagination, and inspired by his love of the arts, he’s been able to create a unique visual multiverse.
