Zoya Taylor

Jamaica

"Zoya Taylor’s canvases are inhabited by surreal yet profoundly human figures—enigmatic beings who embody both strength and vulnerability. These characters mirror her own passage through layered geographies but also speak to broader notions of identity, difference, and belonging. Through intricate patterns and emotionally charged compositions, she reimagines the “misfit” not as an outsider but as a bearer of beauty, complexity, and power.

As Taylor herself expresses, “Our differentness is not to be defined by anyone else’s standards. I paint the cast of characters who fill the spaces in between — the immigrants found between cultures, continents, languages, and disciplines. There is a lot of noise in the silence.”
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MEET

Zoya Taylor

Zoya Taylor is an artist whose paintings unfold as luminous meditations on identity, belonging, and the diasporic experience. Born to Jamaican and Canadian parents, she spent her early years between Germany and Jamaica before settling in Norway — a journey that shaped her deep sensitivity to the spaces that exist between cultures and selves.

Holding a Master’s degree in International Social Work from the University of British Columbia, Taylor dedicated many years to teaching and community development in Jamaica, Canada, Latvia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Norway before fully committing to painting in 2000. Her work has since emerged as a poignant exploration of displacement, memory, and resilience, resonating with audiences across borders.

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