Artist Statement

Telling stories shaped by growth, culture, and the worlds of hip-hop and fashion, this work explores identity, expression, and resilience within the context of diaspora. Through portraiture and mixed media, each piece reflects personal and collective experience, centering community, people, and social and political realities while celebrating culture and enduring strength. The practice expands across design, photography, and hip-hop dance, using multiple forms of expression to deepen narrative and movement.

Biography

Gloire Aelfaz Paluku, also known as Aelfaz, is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, raised in Makindye, Kampala, Uganda. From an early age, art has been central to his identity, developed through constant experimentation across portraiture and other visual practices that explore expression, identity, and emotional depth. Rooted in Afro culture, Black heritage, and the Afro diaspora, Aelfaz’s work reflects both personal history and collective memory, emphasizing Black presence, resilience, and storytelling. His art has been featured in exhibitions including NOCTURNE (Noisemakers), Interiors at 14 Bells Fine Art Gallery, and Arte & Movement at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and he curated Art in Motion at Bedford Row in Halifax. Since immigrating to Canada in 2021, he has continued developing his practice while pursuing Architectural Engineering studies at NSCC, bridging visual arts, fashion, and architecture to create work that is expressive, original, and culturally grounded.