Daniel Israilov notices every single thing. His eyes capture the smallest details and he learns to imitate with his own art. This is where Visual Vernacular comes in, for him.

Born in Kazakhstan, then moved to Israel at the age of nine. At dinner tables, he’d impersonate family members, cracking up jokes, and telling stories. At twenty-four, there were more platforms to express his art, and he did just that on his social media. The storytelling led him to his wife, whom he married in New York City.

The city that watered his artistic seeds. As he learned American Sign Language (ASL), he learned what he has been doing all along, is called Visual Vernacular (VV). He continued to immerse himself in telling stories in VV and doing stand up comedy. He was rich in knowledge: knowing four languages and understanding several cultures – it was time for him to deliver.

A year later, he performed at colleges, non-profit organizations, and poetry clubs with his VV stories. He competed at ASL Elements with various talented VV artists. He taught ASL at Sign Language Center, teaching students how to navigate the language.

With the modality of his fingers, his facial expressions and his body movements, he could tell endless stories.