//Skateboarding & Community
Medium is secondary;
re-meaning is the craft.
His practice is driven by a commitment to challenging the stagnation of meaning, consistently re-presenting familiar ideas in ways that demand a re-questioning of outdated understandings. For Zakaria, the medium is secondary; re-meaning is the craft—a process of intellectual and material deconstruction.
Guided by the conviction that questions matter more than answers, Zakaria frames his practice around dual inquiries—the conceptual engine of artistic intervention and the practical application of social change—both of which are purposefully directed towards public accessibility and real-world function. His work is driven by dual inquiries: the conceptual questions of an artistic intervention (e.g., How can one capture the iconography of Palestinian popular resistance?) and the pragmatic questions of public engagement (e.g., How can skateboarding be used to build community?).
These pursuits drive a cohesive body of work spanning photography, installation, text, public space, brand development, and direct social interventions.
Through this cohesive approach, Zakaria transforms everyday elements into catalysts for new understanding and urban development. In his capacity as a community activist, this manifests through projects like Seven Hills Skatepark and Addis Skatepark, where skate culture becomes a powerful vehicle for youth empowerment and transformative urban politics. Artistically, this same transformative drive re-frames pop culture toys as national symbols, and strips language of its easy definitions to reveal new layers of meaning, evident in his projects like Jabbar and Sakan.
Zakaria lives and works in Amman, Jordan
Solo Exhibitions
Memento
2017
Darat al Funun
Amman, Jordan
Sakan
2019
Amman Image Festival
Amman, Jordan
Group Exhibitions
In The City
2013
P21 Gallery
London, UK
Moveable Feast
2016
Dar al Anda
Amman, Jordan
This Sea Is Mine
2016
Qalandia International art festival
Jaffa, Palestine
Staging An Archive
2017
MMAG
Amman, Jordan
Truth Is Black Write Over It
2018
Darat al Funun
Amman, Jordan
Beirut Art Festival
2018
Beirut, Lebanon
But There Will Be Resistence
2024
University of Kassel
Kassel, Germany
Residencies
Fondazione Fotografia Modena
2017
Art residency
Modena, Italy
Media
Awards
2022