Visual Artist | Tanzania
Shazma .M. Jaffer
Born in 1995
About the creator
- Shazma M. Jaffer is a visionary artist whose work bridges creativity, sustainability, and human values. Her practice emphasizes the beauty of transformation, often using metaphors from nature to explore universal themes of family, care, and renewal. With a deep commitment to environmental responsibility, Shazma integrates recycled and repurposed materials into her art, offering new life to discarded objects while narrating powerful human stories. Her artworks resonate with themes of compassion, respect for elders, and the cyclical journey of life, positioning her as both an innovative thinker and a socially conscious creator.
Artistic Philosophy
At the heart of Shazma’s work lies a belief in art as a medium of connection between generations, between people and the planet, and between the past and the future. She often employs symbolism to express profound ideas: the butterfly life cycle, for example, becomes a metaphor for the evolving roles within family life, where children eventually nurture their parents. Her unique approach combines tactile, everyday materials, ranging from ropes and socks to pistachio shells and broken LEGOs, into layered compositions that transform sustainability into poetry.
Sustainable Art Practice
Shazma’s practice not only redefines the possibilities of mixed media but also underscores her responsibility toward the environment. By weaving sustainability into her creative process, she transforms waste into meaningful artworks that advocate for mindful consumption and conscious living. Her work challenges viewers to reconsider their relationship with the materials they discard, while simultaneously celebrating the resilience of human bonds.
Key Projects & Installations
"New Beginnings" One of her most celebrated projects, New Beginnings, exemplifies her ethos. Constructed largely from recycled materials, this installation illustrates the stages of life and the role of children in caring for their parents as they age. Every element of the piece carries symbolic weight: furniture from discarded objects, a sea sculpted from seashells, and even pistachio shells reborn as plants. Each stage of the butterfly’s journey, from egg to caterpillar, to pupa, to butterfly, reflects the nurturing cycle of family relationships, culminating in the vision of flourishing, healthy parents
Masterpieces by Shazma .M. Jaffer
