Sharmaarke Ali Adan was born in 1996 in Gouda, Netherlands. Sharmaarke Ali Adan had passion for photography from a very young age. He pursued formal education, first at the age of 17 at Barking & Dagenham College where he completed his diploma. He went on to graduate with a degree in Photography at University of East London.

During his early days he worked with the likes of Samuel Ross at A-Cold-Wall, shot editorial for Terra Firma Magazine and most recently SS19 Collection for Bianca Saunders that was featured exclusively in the New York Times. Sharmaarke has also shot with Little Dragon & Petite Noir. In 2020 Sharmaarke was also featured at Replica magazine Issue 8. In 2020 and 2021 Sharmaarke Adan has been featured for Twin Magazine Issue 24.