&z. (zeinab “ames” ajasa) (they/she) grew up in suburban Illinois, just outside Chicago. they were eight years old when they moved to the UK. their multi-cultural upbringing helps her reach a feeling of belonging despite not having a concrete place to call home. they moved back to the US for university and graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA in Studio, focused on Illustration and Writing. they currently reside in the UK post graduation, looking for work in their field.
their visual work and writing go hand in hand and are often merged into a hybrid to create rich and layered artworks. they write poetry and prose that borders the line between matter-of-fact and nonsensical, finding a middle ground in stream-of-consciousness. illustratively, they’ve always been interested in a more semi-realistic to cartoon drawing style and currently, they deconstruct the rules of comics to make panel-less, compositional stories using experimental typography. their inspiration comes from the world around them, their chosen friends and family and the ultra-mundane. once their eye has been caught, and it could be the smallest most insignificant thing, they’ll write it out or draw it out using type to express a feeling. life is so rich and full, that even the smallest things, like a ladybird crawling on a window screen, is worth writing about.
honeymilk
2021
8.5”x5.5”
digital illustrations
2021
8.5”x5.5”
digital illustrations
devil’s lettuce
2020
5.5”x8.5”
digital illustration
2020
5.5”x8.5”
digital illustration
speech
2019
8.5”x5.5”
digital illustrations
2019
8.5”x5.5”
digital illustrations
BLACK GIRL MAGIC 2: THE REDUX
2021
8.5”x11”
blue ballpoint pen and masking tape on gridded notebook paper and newly drawn digital
illustrations and doodles
2021
8.5”x11”
blue ballpoint pen and masking tape on gridded notebook paper and newly drawn digital
illustrations and doodles
nineteenninetyeightaugusttwentyninthfivepm
2021
8.5”x5.5”
digital illustration, printed poem and digital photo collage
2021
8.5”x5.5”
digital illustration, printed poem and digital photo collage