Kira Shaimanova is a Toronto-based sculptural illustrator known for creating meticulously handcrafted characters and worlds with a distinctly surreal point of view.

Her work begins with an idea and takes shape by hand. Kira sculpts characters from clay, constructs miniature sets and environments, and brings each scene together through composition and photography. The result lives somewhere between sculpture and illustration — tactile, unexpected and unmistakably her own.

Inspired by the fantastical, the strange and the wonderfully absurd, Kira’s work pairs detailed craftsmanship with character, storytelling and a playful sense of dark humour.