6.2.16

recycle your blues

recycle your blues invite . 2016

work in progress . 2016

work in progress . 2016

a krossbreed koat . 2016

a krossbreed koat . 2016

a krossbreed koat at the recycle your blues event . 2016

i recently worked on a project for gap middle east's 'recycle your blues' campaign. i was invited by gap to work with piles of used denim jeans that had been donated for recycling, and create an art piece with it. this was definitely a new challenge for me as i've never worked with denim before, and was excited to see what i'd come up with.
the end result was a sleeveless coat made of patched denim pieces, with a golden overlayed screen printed pattern. the inspiration behind the piece was both from japanese boro kimonos and the adornment of traditional fabrics from the UAE. the end result is the 'krossbreed koat' you see above.
the final piece was exhibited at the new gap store in the dubai mall, raising awareness on the possibilities of what can be done with recycled denim. in addition, the art piece will also be donated to the al noor training centre for children with special needs where it will be auctioned to raise funds for the centre. i am truly humbled to be able to contribute to such a cause through my art. i wasn't the only artist in this campaign. there were two other artists from the uae - dina saadi and noush like sploosh, as well as three artists from kuwait - the doghouse collective, mohammed al mohanna and yousef saleh (aka joegraffi). it was a real pleasure being a part of this project together and seeing how everyone responded to the denim in their unique artistic way.
i end this post with a few thank you's – thank you gap and for allowing me to be a part of the 'recycle your blues' campaign, and to be able to support the al noor centre through such a contribution. thank you jennifer for all the help and support. thank you to the wonderful tailors i worked with. thank you noush for helping me out, and to marwan for modeling the final piece. to all the artists, it was a real pleasure. i leave you with a lovely photo of all the contributing artists at the 'recycle your blues' event.

the recycle your blues artists . 2016 (image courtesy of gap)