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Shimon Wanda is a multidisciplinary
contemporary artist from Haifa’s Kiryat Haim neighborhood.

Born in Israel, his influence is nonetheless founded on the history of Ethiopian
migration to Israel—shaped through his parents’ experience, for whom escaping Ethiopia was not easy.

The artist takes an experimental approach,completing a blend of large murals and smaller
portraits, and more recently, applying spray paint to convey movement and emotion in real time.
Wanda’s work asks questions about Ethiopian Jewish culture, often by way of vibrant neon colors
and abstracted shapes. His artistry is specific, visibly his own, yet constantly evolving—currently
focusing on intuition and inquiry, and moving away from careful planning to tell his subjects’
stories. “My choice to convey emotions through the expression of the portrait involves a state of  freeze,”says the artist.

“But on the other hand, I want to make the viewer confused and excited.”
The artist maintains a strict training regimen involving his upper body and hand movements,
working hard to increase flexibility and fluidity while reducing the risk of confronting his greatest
fear of no longer being able to paint.

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