Biography

A descendant of Black matriarchs Margaret Timmons and Clementine Alice Smith, Zahyr Lauren, also known as The Artist L.Haz, creates in order to share light and love with community. Each piece is a time period of meditative peace for Zahyr.

Z is the youngest of four siblings from San Jose, California. Z comes from a powerful, Southern Black matriarchy that migrated from Oklahoma to California with nothing, and made something for generations to come. Z is a West Coast based artist, humanstorian, former Human Rights Investigator, and former Attorney who began drawing in 2015. At 29, after temporarily losing their ability to walk as a result of stress associated with being an Attorney, Zahyr quit the field of law and dedicated themselves to exploring their art.

The practice of meditative art, for Z, has become a mental and emotional salve, helping to cope with the trauma of coming from the injustice systems most heavily targeted community. The practice provides a meditative reprieve from the world and the artist hopes the work engulfs other people in the same kind of peace that was felt during each works creation. All of Z's artwork is hand drawn.

Artist Statement

I am an autodidact who creates multi-dimensional work that honors the truth that life is at once a precisely organized experience and a chaotic mess. I am particularly interested in how this duality is uniquely experienced by Black folks. Through a visual language of symbols, color, and geometry, my art creates meditative landscapes focusing on the expression of Black pride, power, and regality, alongside pain and grief. In every piece, there is a story of black life in America.

I create with a variety of materials, including watercolor, acrylic, and ink. My process allows the art to create itself, without being confined by my intention around composition. While the multi-dimensional worlds that I create may seem abstract, they contain concrete references to the natural and built worlds. I research and map out sacred geometric patterns, from the structure of bee communities to the shell of pineapples. My academic background in mathematics and love for architecture also deeply influence my process.

My art is freedom and healing through meditation. A way to transform trauma instead of transmitting it. I invite the viewer to be moved by the pain, the process, and the purpose of each work.

Statement of Intent

The book as an artistic object is a concept that fascinates me. My work as an artist is to combine visual stimulation designed to evoke emotion, with information designed to advance our understanding of one another, and our grasp on the human story of this country. I will create artist books that are bound in the cultural context of this moment, while providing the viewer with a chance to view and hold on to my interpretation of a future filled with hope, healing, and peace.

I am also excited to try my hand at building broadsides that can be folded and turned into pamphlets or chapbooks for younger audiences. As a self-taught artist who has never had a residency before, I will use every tool and technique being offered to build my skillset as a storyteller and humanstorian.