shemza.digital #16, is an interactive Instagram filter created by Aphra Shemza and Eduardo Cariglino in collaboration with the public. The filter is based on an original head painting by Anwar Jalal Shemza from 1956. There is an exhibition of Shemza’s Heads at Hales Gallery London 4th April - 18th May 2024. More information about the exhibition can be found here.

By interacting with the filter participants can literally become an Anwar Jalal Shemza portrait creating their own individual images and videos and sharing them with our online community.

The shemza.digital project combines the abstract art of Anwar Jalal Shemza (1928-1985) and the contemporary digital practice of Aphra Shemza, the artist’s granddaughter. Launched in collaboration with the computer artist Stuart Batchelor in 2020 and funded by Arts Council England, the shemza.digital project is made for and with the British public. The project creates art that is accessible to all through its educational programme of digital art workshops, hybrid exhibitions and participatory and interactive artworks.