Isaac Makanda (ighZikk) is a 2nd year fine arts student who is currently studying at the University of Cincinnati’s college of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP). He currently works in multiple mediums such as sketching, painting, and photography. Due to his distinct styles, he’s labeled himself as “The ighZikk” since he’s not just one singular person with one style and can adapt to many different creative fields.

His artwork covers different topics that include capitalism, colonialism, prejudice, Pan-Africanism, slavery, and so much more. Isaac comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo and has learned of the history of his people as well as the current atrocities taking place. This has largely influenced his work and has strengthened his views in politics as well. Since a child, he’s always had a passion for creating anything and that turned into his love of writing and eventually art. The power of creating anything and not having anyone to tell him what you can and can’t create has pushed him to new heights, while also using art as a voice for his thoughts.

He’s recently been more involved into photography and has started to produce more projects that are self-made and focus on family, religion, and even the cities of Columbus or Cincinnati.

His influences in his art include artists such as Basquiat, Frida Kahlo, Rene Magritte, Alberto Giacometti, and Francisco Goya. With his artwork, he intends to become an art educator with hopes of being able to educate his ideas and teach the youth so that they can learn about the world through art.