MAUREEN
ZACHARKI

Maureen Zacharki is an artist whose career spans both stage and still image, with roots firmly planted in the historic district of Old Nutana, Saskatoon. Educated in acting and theatre design at the University of Saskatchewan, she built her early artistic identity through a multidisciplinary practice encompassing acting, costume, set and lighting design, writing, and directing. These theatrical beginnings continue to shape her approach to photography, particularly in how she frames visual narratives and imbues her images with emotional cadence. The theatrical structure—gesture, lighting, atmosphere—carries over from stagecraft into her photography, enriching each frame with a sense of presence and subtle performance.

Her transition into photography was not simply an aesthetic pivot, but a response to deeply personal and medical challenges. From childhood, Zacharki has lived with Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, a rare neurological condition that distorts perception of time, space, and body. Later, she was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia, a painful nerve disorder that intensified her experience of internal fragmentation. In search of self-reconciliation, she began a series of self-portraits—using the lens not only as a creative tool but as a means of reclaiming identity and visualizing a fragmented sense of self. Through this deeply introspective practice, she explores dualities: the serene versus the painful, the seen versus the felt, the memory versus the moment.

Zacharki’s work resists easy categorization. Influenced by theatre, fashion, and historical photography, she weaves references across multiple artistic genres. From the nostalgic aura of Victorian portraiture to the gritty textures of 35mm film photography, her practice experiments with medium, style, and process. Whether working with digital, instant, or analog film cameras, she treats each device as an extension of her vision. She often continues to edit and manipulate the image post-capture, seeking not realism but emotional accuracy. Her photographs exist as both visual diary and creative manifesto—a reflection of the fractured, beautiful, humorous, and sometimes painful reality she inhabits.

Photography became essential to me when words and movement no longer sufficed. My creative journey began in theatre, where I learned how light, silence, and gesture could shape a narrative. That discipline taught me to see the world in frames and sequences. When I could no longer perform on stage due to health issues, I found a new kind of performance in front of the camera. Self-portraiture became my script, my monologue, my mise-en-scène. I still direct each image like a play—carefully lit, emotionally paced, and layered with symbolic meaning. My camera is more than a device; it’s an extension of thought, emotion, and identity. It gives me access to a visual language through which I can express complexities that don’t translate easily into words.

Much of my work reflects the effects of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome—a condition I’ve lived with since childhood. It alters my perception of scale, space, and time. This experience of visual and spatial distortion influences how I compose images, manipulate tones, and interpret what’s “real.” Sometimes, my photographs aim to recreate these perceptual shifts. Other times, they’re attempts to reconcile the two versions of myself: the half that functions and the half that hurts. My diagnosis of Trigeminal Neuralgia deepened this split. Photography became a tool for survival, a method of putting myself back together. The self-portraits were my way of proving to myself that I was still whole—even if I didn’t always feel it. They became more than documentation. They became transformation.

I don’t adhere to a single style or subject matter. I let the idea or emotion dictate the form. I’m influenced by fashion editorials, historical photography, silent films, Pre-Raphaelite art, rock music, and visual anachronism. I embrace post-manipulation, film grain, solarization, and any technique that bends the image toward the truth I want to convey. Sometimes, the result is dark and theatrical. Other times, it’s playful or nostalgic. I’m not seeking aesthetic consistency—I’m chasing the feeling of recognition. My hope is that each viewer finds a piece of themselves inside my images, even if the memory isn’t theirs and even if the world I show doesn’t exist outside of my mind.

Education:

• Acting and Theatre Design (Costume, Set, Lighting), University of Saskatchewan
• Fine Arts, University of Saskatchewan

Media Features:

• JaamZIN Creative, July 2021
• JaamZIN Creative, June 2024
• Canadian Photography Magazine, Winter 2024 — Article: “No Coincidences” (written by artist, includes feature on artist’s work)
• AATONAU, August 2025