Jammi Abdul-Khaliq Abdul-Samad

Jaami began to draw at a very young age. As he grew older, he purchased books and avidly read about other artists. His favorite subjects were African figures that he later penciled in -- he often selected pictures from the Bible that he transformed to look more ethnically correct. He frequented Studio Watts in the late 60s, where he met Charles Dickson. Then, he visited Otis and Chouinard to draw with teachers and students. Today, Jaami is mostly a figurative artist, but he also likes abstraction. He creates collages, assemblages, stone carvings and welded pieces. His work is surrealistic in style, while its content is filled with a rich heritage, ritual poetry and certain mysticism.