khalid mezaina • illustration & textiles

24.4.12

rivers of the world part 2

nad al hamar school workshop . 2012

al saeedeya school workshop . 2012

with march madness behind me, it's time to get back to working on the rivers of the world project. if you've seen my previous post, there were two more workshops left before heading on to the next phase of the project, which is creating the final artworks.

over the last few weeks, maie & i headed to the remaining two schools to complete all the workshops. at the schools, we offered workshops on painting with watercolour & creating graffiti pieces with stencils. i think the students really enjoyed it & results from the workshops were extremely good & creative.

now that the workshops are officially over, its time to start working on the final pieces. i'm really looking forward to working with maie on these & am excited about the final results. stay tuned, as always, for more updates on the project very soon...

28.3.12

sketching urban landscapes

karama . 2011

with march coming to a close, it's time to focus on new projects. i'd like to create a series of sketches/illustrations based on architectural landscapes & communities around the city. it's amazing how each area in dubai has it's own characteristics & visual aesthetics defining what type of area it is & the communities that live there. i started mapping out the area of karama through a series of photographs a year ago (view previous post krossbreed photography) & finally came up with this illustration shown above. it's taken me awhile to create an illustration based on the findings. but i'm quite happy with the final result & am motivated to go around town to explore & document new areas & have a series of architectural illustrations around dubai. from the new glizty high rise communities, to the run-down areas long forgotten, i'd like to have a series of illustrations representing each of these iconic areas that make up the city as a whole. & who knows; maybe these illustrations will find their way on future krossbreed products...

25.3.12

the good ghaf

the good ghaf 1 . 2012

the good ghaf 2 . 2012

the good ghaf 3 . 2012

the good ghaf 4 . 2012

here's another series of illustrations i worked on for a soon to be released publication honoring children's fables & stories from around the world. my previous drawings for the assigned story 'the boy who cried wolf' will unfortunately not be published, which is why i was approached to create new drawings for the emirati story titled 'the good ghaf'.

in short, the story is about a young shepherd girl called mariam who notices her dog baroot runs off in search of a sheep that's lost it's way. when following baroot, mariam gets lost in the desert wilderness away from her village, and hides under a ghaf tree from protection against the bad weather. eventually mariam finds the missing sheep, and runs back to her village, fearing a wild desert wolf might attack her along the way. once home, mariam is safe with her family and grandmother, who tells her stories about the good ghaf tree and how it is both 'a comfort and shelter for both man & beast'.

the visual interpretation of the story is very similar to my previous attempt mentioned earlier, focusing on the characters without literally interpreting the written text. i'm really looking forward to seeing these published in final book form to share with the rest of the world. i guess everything happens for a reason, & i'm happy to say i now have two solid works of illustrations for children's publications to add to my constantly expanding portfolio.

11.3.12

tanak

camel flower stencil design . 2012

tanak . 2012

here's the third and final krossbreed product i'm working on, to be launched & sold along with the latest tees & vinyls at the second edition of the dxb store at this year's art dubai. i'm super excited about all these products & look forward to seeing the response...

i attempted to create a series of plates last year with a similar 'camel flower' design. but unfortunately, the end product was a total disaster, & did not see the light of day. so for this year, i wanted to attempt making plates again, & push the idea to another level.

i am fascinated by traditional serving plates made out of tin, found in many traditional arabic homes here. i remember as a child, i loved seeing these kitschy serving plates around the house, & used at my grandma's when we gather together for meals. these beautiful plates are slowly disappearing from homes, replaced by modern, ugly kitchenware. they're so rare to find nowadays, unless you go on a scavenge hunt in traditional souqs..

so, i wanted to pay homage to these serving plates and their floral aesthetics by making a krossbreed version, honoring the 'tanak'!
a big shout out goes to my favorite girls tulip & layan, and my boys ahmed & bader. without their help, these tanaks wouldn't exist...

9.3.12

krosbreed vinyl

krossbreed vinyl package design . 2012

krossbreed vinyl . 2012

another official announcement from the house of krossbreed! along with the latest king & queen tee's released this month, i am also releasing the first series of vinyl wall stickers for anyone interested in decorating their boring walls! vinyl stickers was always something i wanted to venture into, and i finally had the opportunity to do so.

still playing with visuals inspired from playing cards, & queues from my culture that i find visually exciting, i came up with a simple pack of coloured vinyl stickers which you can purchase & stick on your wall according to your liking.

what you see above is a simple teaser of what to expect. stay tuned for more updates, including one more new krossbreed product announcement very soon. until then, if you spot the krossbreed vinyl pack around the city, make sure to pick one (or more) up. you won't be disappointed...

27.2.12

rivers of the world part 1

al ebdaa school workshop . 2012

omar bin khattab school workshop . 2012

al khansaa school workshop . 2012

umm suqueim school workshop . 2012

since the beginning of the year, i've been leading a series of workshops along with my friend and freelance graphic designer maie atabani, catered to students in government schools around the city. the workshops are part of a bigger project/exhibition happening later this year titled rivers of the world, part of the thames festival in london.

rivers of the world focuses on encouraging children to create art based on research about a river that exists in their country. it also promotes dialogue and exchange between international schools. i think its a great initiative and am glad to be a part of it. thank you british council for inviting me to be a part of this project!

as dubai is being represented this year with the dubai creek (which technically isn't a river but still works!), maie and i have been to four schools so far, leading workshops and teaching students different techniques to create artworks based on assigned themes about the river. so far, we've used techniques like drawing, painting, collage and inkblot printing! once the students create their final pieces, maie and i compile all the works digitally to create one final artwork per school. as long as each student's work is visually represented, we have free reign to decide how the final artwork looks.

it's been such a great experience so far. i feel that in some way, i am giving something back to the community, and hopefully inspiring a younger generation to express themselves through art. its also been very exciting seeing the results the students come up with. they actually reminded me of how much i miss being young and a student, where i had so much fun experimenting with different mediums to create works.

after march, we have two more schools to work with. once we've completed all six workshops, maie and i start working on the six final pieces. stay tuned for updates in the near future...

21.2.12

a queen needs her king...

king . 2011

its time to make new krossbreed products (do i hear a yaay in the distance?!) & i am super excited to announce 2 new designs for tees coming out this march.

i decided to use my previous queen illustration as one of the new t-shirt designs. but every queen needs her king! so, the second tee will be none other then my queen's significant other; her very own king! i'm very excited for when these are ready, as i've been badgered by many to produce these designs onto t-shirts. i hope i don't disappoint & satisfy the krossbreed lovers out there! both king & queen tees will cater to both male & female audiences, & come in a special package for anyone who's interested in buying both designs.

stay tuned for more updates on the king & queen tees, plus news on additional krossbreed products to be released in march...