11.3.24

ramadan kareem 2024

ramadan . 2024

it's that time of year again – ramadan kareem to those observing. may it be a blessed, holy month for us all. sending well wishes to anyone reading this, as well as your families and loved ones.
ramadan has been quite a challenging month for me in recent years. we do our best to observe the holy month, and some years are better than others. here's hoping this year is one of the better ones. remember to be charitable, grateful, mindful and thankful. and keep those that are less fortunate in your thoughts and prayers, especially with all the current tragedies happening around the world.
i'll keep this post short and sweet, and end with a big thank you to shamal holding for giving me the opportunity to work on the illustration above as their ramadan greetings for this year. i'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

3.3.24

children of the house

children of the house i . 2024

children of the house ii . 2024

children of the house iii . 2024

children of the house b/w (gif) . 2024
 
here's a series of new risograph prints i worked on with my dear friends diego and finn who've recently set up their risograph printing studio, full special studio! i'm so excited and proud of them because i've heard them brainstorm ideas of wanting to open a studio for awhile and they finally took the leap and launched at this year's sikka art and design festival. we finally have a risograph printing studio in town!
my prints are a continued exploration of my dancing silhouettes which i've only so far been producing as stamp prints. i took the opportunity to use the risograph machine to give my silhouettes a different dimension – printing the hand drawn pencil marks in colour, and play with values and overlays which is the beauty of riso prints! this is the first time i have multiple dancing figures across a page, so it was fun to build these scenes of dance poses and interactions. it's inspired by my love for house music, voguing and the participants i've encountered from this club culture that i've grown to love – i dedicate these prints to the children of the house...
i really love how the final prints turned out and i can't thank the full special studio duo for guiding me through the process to come up with the best outcomes. if you're not familiar with risograph printing, please do a little search and learn more about it. and more importantly, please follow full special studio and keep up to date with what they have to offer in the near future. support small, local businesses...
ending this post with a photo of my prints beautifully displayed at the full special studio pop up space at this year's sikka art and design festival. it's been 10 years since my last participation at sikka (see here), and i'm super happy to be back after all these years with full special studio. 

all photos courtesy of full special studio.

'children of the house' at full special studio pop up, sikka art and design festival . 2024


22.2.24

speechless

'speechless' i . 2023

'speechless' ii . 2023

'speechless' iii . 2023

'young voices of arabia 2023' publication . 2024

i had the opportunity to work with voices of future generations once again (see previous project here) on their 2023 edition of 'young voices of arabia', an annual publication that invites young creative writers between the ages 8 – 12 to submit short stories which if selected, will be published. each story in the book is supported with illustrations by invited artists and illustrators.
the story i was tasked to illustrate was 'speechless' by twelve year old author diala sadeq khatib, about the power of friendships to make positive change. i hope the author is happy with the illustrations!
'young voices of arabia 2023' is now available for purchase, both in english and arabic, via the voices of future generations' website. it's a great edition this year with wonderful stories and great supporting illustrations. i'm happy to be published in two editions so far.

18.2.24

magic found...

in search of magic . 2022 – 2023 . jameel library, jameel arts centre, dubai. courtesy of art jameel

in search of magic . 2022 – 2023 . jameel library, jameel arts centre, dubai. courtesy of art jameel

in search of magic . 2022 – 2023 . jameel library, jameel arts centre, dubai. courtesy of art jameel

in search of magic . 2022 – 2023 . jameel library, jameel arts centre, dubai. courtesy of art jameel

in search of magic . 2022 – 2023 . jameel library, jameel arts centre, dubai. courtesy of art jameel

in search of magic . 2022 – 2023 . jameel library, jameel arts centre, dubai. courtesy of art jameel

in search of magic . 2022 – 2023 . jameel library, jameel arts centre, dubai. courtesy of art jameel

i'm so happy to be posting about my recent textile project which i'm immensely proud of. 'in search of magic' began in july 2022 (see announcement post here), and was completed in december 2023. 
'in search of magic' was created for the jameel library commission – an annual program where creative professionals are invited to use the library at the jameel arts centre as a resource and space for research to produce monthly writings that are published online. in addition to the writings, my commission also included working on a physical textile piece which evolved during the duration of the commission alongside the monthly writings.
my topic of research was (regional) magical and talismanic practises within the realm of textiles. there is a rich history of regional talismans and magical thinking – from beliefs derived from ancient civilisations and medieval islam, as well as contemporary practices found today. the project expanded my knowledge on magic, looking beyond standard definitions and questioning magic's existence in the contemporary where it feels like there is no place for it.
i would like to keep this post short, and urge everyone to head to the project website and take the time to read all ten chapters (i promise they're short!), and view the process visuals which include selected pages from my sketchbook and the development of the textile piece in relation to each chapter. the website also includes a bibliography at the end of each chapter for anyone interested in the books referenced for this commission.

without further ado, please head to insearchofmagic.jameelartscentre.org

a few thank you's are in order – first off, a huge thank you to the jameel arts centre for the invitation to participate in the second edition of the jameel library commission. antonia, uns, azim, abhirami, nabla – thank you for giving me the space, opportunity, trust and support to work on a self driven project that i'm super proud of. thank you to the tech team who helped with the website updates, the marketing team who'd post monthly announcements online for each chapter, the install team who'd assist in hanging the textile each month at the library – your help didn't go unnoticed.
a big thank you goes to the wonderful artisans and embroiderers at 'khalil tailoring & embroidery', who assisted with all the beautiful embroidery and appliqué work on the textile. they are very much a part of this project and i can't thank them enough for all their work and care.
thank you ismail noor for the professional photographs you see above. and lastly, thank you to the friends and loved ones who were supportive during the project. from feedback on the progress of the textile, to proof reading each chapter, and keeping me company on the multiple visits to the embroiderers – thank you and i love you very much (y'all know who you are).

i end this post with one last announcement – the textile piece has recently been acquired by the jameel arts centre!!! i'm so honoured to have my work included in their permanent collection. in addition to the team members listed above, i also thank dawn and rhoda from the collections team for making this happen. thank you thank you...

1.2.24

patterns and screams

untitled . 2024

i've told myself i'll be more active this year with self initiated projects instead of just being creative for client based stuff. let's see how it goes...
i just finished working on a recent commission (which i can only share much later in the year) and was completely worn out. colouring on my laptop for 2 days, 6 hours each, was not fun. so after finally submitting and getting it out of my way, i wanted to decompress and work on something that didn't follow any sort of brief or instructions. i came up with this pattern comprised of my face in different orientations, taken from a photo of me dancing – i must've been singing along to beyoncé or something!
i'm still not a master at creating dynamic pattern designs. but i think this is a fairly good attempt – i would love to see how the pattern translates if printed on fabric or a tailored garment! i enjoy how the pattern emotes euphoria, or perhaps exhaustion! i guess it depends on the mood you're in when viewing this.
let's see if this pattern makes it's way into some future project. until then, enjoy...

23.1.24

there is no hope

'ma fee amal' (gif) . 2024

'ma fee amal' zine (pink) . 2024

here's my first new project for the start of the new year! i've been wanting to work on this zine for quite some time, and i finally got a chance to do it. 'ma fee amal', arabic for 'there is no hope', is a zine of illustrated facial expressions of the insane, the unstable, the hopeless! it represents the many absurd facial expressions encountered when viewing stories by people on social media – delusional folk who'd do anything to gain attention for a few minutes of online fame.
i also think it's a zine of the times – where emotional hysteria is at an all time high. there's a tendency to overshare how we feel, constantly posting online about personal highs and lows, using social media as a space to manage unresolved emotions.
most importantly, it's a zine for laughs. i hope readers can relate to the humour, and perhaps recognise some of the crazy facial expressions made by those we encounter on our digital screens.
'ma fee amal' is now available, and will shortly make it's way around shops and fairs so stay tuned for announcements. if you're dying to get your hands on one right now, please reach out! 'ma fee amal' is printed in pink and also in white for you to choose from.
ending this post with a big thank you to the face(s) of hopelessness that inspired this zine.

19.1.24

shout out to khalid the dancer

the dancer . 2023

hope everyone's year has been off to a good start...
i've jumped straight into 2024 with lots of catch ups with loved ones old and new, starting on new projects, and preparing for a few upcoming talks and presentations. i'm also taking advantage of the good weather by walking or taking public transport. it's been great experiencing the city on foot and not just from behind the windshield of my car. another thing i'm doing quite a lot of is dancing, taking the opportunity to dance as much as i can before ramadan in march.
if there are any first time visitors to my blog, please bear witness to my love for dance! the illustration above is from an earlier project that didn't get approved. it encapsulates the joy i have when on the dance floor. my relationship with the dance floor has been ongoing since my late teens/early twenties. from tagging along with my older sisters, to partying hard with friends in my carefree twenties, to gaining the courage to going out alone in my early thirties – i feel free and happiest when on the dance floor and under a disco ball. and oh how many times have i danced my pain and sorrows away...
as someone who generally dislikes people, dancing amongst strangers (and friends) is quite enjoyable. it is on the dance floor where i've met some of my favourite people, and also where i've received so much love from strangers commenting on my dancing. just to be clear, i've never taken a dance class, or claim to be a professional dancer. i guess my love for music has gifted me with rhythm! if you frequent spaces in town that play afrobeats, dancehall, soca, r'n'b, disco, house, or pure pop, you'll probably find me dancing on my own. if you spot me, come say hi!
stay tuned for where this illustration might go – i see it printed on t-shirts, perhaps a way of commemorating the myth of 'khalid the dancer'. there's something iconic about it, like the many tees of my favorite pop stars that i adorn myself with.