“There’s a story somewhere that I’m trying to find and I don’t know if I fully know it yet. It's a bit of personal discovery.”
Zuri Stanback has been a professional creator for quite some time, but this year gave him new insights on levels that he is yet to unlock for himself. It has been an emotional whirlwind in the midst of remote teaching his kids and being at home all the time as opposed to finding inspiration outside of his own home. Not to mention the contrast created as an artist that is prospering in a world that is collectively suffering.
The opportunity to have extra time while simultaneously changing the way he finds inspiration has been an opportunity to fine tune projects that motivate him. Zuri’s grandfather was a photographer and this year, Zuri picked up a camera of his own. Through videography and photography, he has been exploring this new visual medium with hopes to better translate a story he is still figuring out. A story not yet told, but one that needs to be showcased.
He left a career that no longer inspired him and transitioned into a position that gives him more purpose. “I think it's given me more subject matter,” Zuri says speaking of the pandemic.
“The source of any of my work has always been emotions/ feelings and in some instances experiences of african american men. That’s what I know.”
His work has been impacted by this year with the emotions that he expresses through his work. Showcasing the images of men showcasing emotion in the way he is most familiar has given him a way to release his own frustrations with the tense topics that have surfaced in 2020.
“These events [that] occurred this year made me more reflective of what I want to do. It took a while to realize that I had the time.”
Zuri has taught himself editing and is enjoying honing new processes in his paintings. He has challenged himself to work on color theory and create a deeper understanding of tone, light and shadow to better portray emotion.
He aims to convert his personal journey into a documentary of some sort to tell an entire story. A generational story that showcases how our history impacted how we view the world. How we developed the opportunities given to us. How did everything affect us in socio economics and culture? There is much more to await in Zuri’s creative development of this concept and we can’t wait to see what happens next.
For more uri Stanback, follow him on social media @ zuristanback
and Purchase some items from her ComfiArt Collection.
