Afzal Shafiu Hassan

Afzal Shafiu Hassan (Afu) is an artist proficient in several media, although he works mostly with oil and water colors. In 1994, at the age of 18, Afu began his professional career as a postages stamp designer at Maldives Post Limited. And in 1997, he received a scholarship in Graphic Design, where he majored in illustration. Since then he has continued working at the Post Office as well as an art director / designer at a private advertising agency.

In 2001, with two other colleagues, Afu has his first group exhibition titled 'Reflected Illusions', at Esjehi Gallery, Male', where he exhibited work produced using a variety of media including oils, water color and acrylic. Always experimenting with newstyles, his works accomodate various influenced including traces of traditional South Asian miniature paintings as well as Cubism. A talented draftsman, Afzal also attended a SAARC artist camp sponsored by the Indian NGO Seher in january 2007. And in 2008, his first solo exhibition 'Visual Memories', was held at the National Art Gallery.

According to Afu, he wishes to develop his art to 'reflect my views and opinions about myself and the environment I live in, to express my thoughts in its purest form and to contribute to the wave of positive change through my art'.