Paul Shiakallis was born in Johannesburg in 1982 to parents of Cypriot descent. His father taught him how to use a camera at the age of fifteen and his first photographs were of flowers. In school he covered all sporting events for the high school newspaper and through art become infatuated by detail. After one year at RAU he transferred to Pretoria Tech. He assisted Mark Lanning (also featured in this issue of Snapped) for 18 months in Johannesburg and it was on his behest that he set out to shoot his own work. Unlike many featured photographers Shiakallis,working with a stylist, shoots still-lives in scenes that he positions, addressing the human subject and inanimate subject alike. The weight he lends objects is more about composition then concept allowing the possibility of a variety of narratives to flare off the image.

Shiakallis currently freelances and assists photographers in and around Johannesburg