User:Universe5656/sandbox

Sam Sameja also known as Fazlul Karim Sameja (born 15 June 1939) is a Tanzanian born Australian artist.

Sameja was born on the small island of Pemba, Tanganyika (now Tanzania). His grandparents had migrated from India to Africa in the 1890s. Sameja spent his childhood growing up in British ruled Zanzibar, the larger more well-known island of the region often referred to as the “Spice Islands”.

After secondary school, he secured a scholarship to study Fine Arts at the Institute of Surikov in Moscow in 1959. He spent at least 6 years in the USSR including living in Georgia for a period of time learning the language.

After Sameja left the USSR, he travelled across Europe in search for another art scholarship although his attempts were unsuccessful. He then briefly headed back to East Africa where there was much conflict. It was not safe for him to stay so he made his way to London and eventually was granted the status of a political refugee.

It was in London where he met his Australian (British born) wife and in the 1970s they immigrated to Western Australia. This is where most of Sameja's paintings were created with various mediums including oil and acrylic on canvas and board.

His works can be categorized into surrealism and abstract. In his earlier years, his paintings featured prominent public figures or an event. In his later years, he concentrated on colour and design with his ideas often coming directly his dreamworld.

He moved to Melbourne in 2009 and now is living in aged care with dementia.