khalid mezaina • illustration & textiles

27.2.16

in movement there is blessing

'al haraka baraka: in movement there is blessing' evite . 2016

'emirian' process sketches . 2016

'to drink' textile design . 2016

'to rest' textile design . 2016

'to wander' textile design . 2016

emirian . 2016

i am participating in a new exhibition at the maraya art centre titled 'al haraka baraka: in movement there is blessing', a group show of newly commissioned works for the private collection of his highness sheikh zayed bin sultan bin khalifa al nahyan. commissioned by uae unlimited arab exploration, the theme of the exhibition explores the rich mix of cultures that have long existed in the uae and the influence of these cultural migrations. for the exhibition, i created a new artwork titled 'emirian', which simply means an emirati, or a person from the uae. i remember growing up learning the term emirian. but over the years, its been replaced with emirati. the final artwork shown above is made of an acquired trolley from the souk, along with digitally printed stuffed textiles, and wallpaper. its the first time i've exhibited an installation piece, still involving my main mediums of interest - illustration and textiles. below is the artist statement that explains the theme of the project.

"i believe that culture is what you construct for yourself and is unique to everyone else's definition and experience. i've always felt disconnected with traditions from my heritage, resulting in moulding a culture of my own due to the country's constant change and foreign influences. through my current research on personal observations and interactions with older communities, i've begun to reconnect with certain areas around dubai. these were once an integral part of the development of the uae and were an important part of my life growing up. the disconnection was due to the rapid change the city underwent in the last 15 years. today as a practicing artist, this reconnection is both nostalgic and an experience completely different to what i remember in my youth. interactions have become more personal. in turn, exploring these areas as an adult is inspiring. i wander these areas, in search of new yet familiar experiences, moving forward into the future with what was once taken for granted in the past. just like the iconic trolley handlers swarm these areas, i compare myself to these individuals who move items, experiences and culture from place to place. my trolley is stacked with bundled textiles that reflect and communicate the contents of my personal definition of culture. the contents are concealed, but the patterns adorning the wrapped textiles giving meaning to what is underneath. my culture is a collection of influences on music, food, attire, dance and rituals from various geographic sources. i share my culture with an audience that continues to influence me, in hopes of impacting others wanting to influence each other the same way."

a few thank yous to all that helped with making this artwork come to life – first off, thank you to the maraya art centre and uae unlimited arab exploration teams for including me in this exhibition and your support with bringing this project to life and exhibiting it in the best possible way. to my dear friend abdul who i've known for almost 2 decades, thank you for helping with acquiring a trolley. the artwork wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for your important contribution. thank you mermaid digital printing l.l.c for printing my textiles beautifully. lastly, to my friends who contributed with their honest feedback and suggestions. love you all.

'al haraka baraka: in movement there is blessing' runs until 30 april 2016. please do make sure to check it out. for more information on the exhibition, please check the link here.

6.2.16

recycle your blues

recycle your blues invite . 2016

work in progress . 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)

31.1.16

wanderland

wanderland evite . 2016

wanderland proposal sketch . 2015

wanderland murals . 2016 (image courtesy of hermes)

wanderland murals . 2016

visitors at the wanderland exhibition . 2016 (image courtesy of pawan singh/the national)

wanderland exhibition exterior . 2016

i had the pleasure of working with paris fashion house hermes on a project i am humbled to be a part of. the hermes and dubai tourism teams got in touch, wanting to collaborate on a project that coincided with the dubai shopping festival.

hermes was bringing their exhibition wanderland to dubai, which highlights original historical and contemporary pieces from the fashion house, beautifully presented in an exhibition with the theme of wandering the magical streets of paris. my contribution to the exhibition was a series of murals in the 'street art' themed room.

my inspiration for the murals you see above are a personal interpretation of how i feel when i visit paris. it has this unexplainable magic to it; its rich history mixed with the modern city it is today. wandering the streets of paris is so charming and feels like everything in the city is alive. i took inspiration from visual references about paris that i find iconic, presenting a wonderland, or should i say 'wanderland' themed series of illustrations.

after a long, intense five days of non stop painting and drawing with markers, i am happy to say that the murals were completed in time for the exhibition opening. the reaction was great, and hearing what people had to say was heartwarming. i even got a chance to present my contribution to his highness sheikh mansoor bin mohammed bin rashid al maktoum!

if you haven't yet checked out wanderland, please make sure to do so. besides my work, the exhibition as a whole is impeccable. whether you're a fashion lover or not, this show caters to all. wanderland is up until the 7th february 2016. for more information on wanderland, have a look at the link here.

a few thank you's are in order – a big thank you to both hermes and dubai tourism for getting in touch and selecting me to be a part of the show. i am so happy to be representing my country in the dubai edition of the wanderland exhibition. thank you for the opportunity. also, a big thank you to the electra team for being welcoming and supportive at their warehouse in ras al khaimah where i was stationed for five days completing the murals. lastly, thank you to my friend samad, who assisted me during the five days in ras al khaimah, helping me paint, laugh, and complete the murals on time. if it wasn't for you, i wouldn't have been able to have finished. merci sam!

i end this post with a video by the dubai shopping festival which highlights the wanderland exhibit. plus i make a cameo! enjoy...

26.1.16

krossbreed at toil and tinker's 'ink, sweat & tears'

ink, sweat & tears evite . 2016

with the first post of 2016, i am happy to announce my participation in toil and tinker's 'ink, sweat & tears' launch party. toil and tinker are a new space for printing solutions catering to the creative scene here. some of the facilities toil and tinker offer are silkscreen stations and risograph printing, which i'm really excited about.

toil and tinker are moving to a new space and are having a launch party to mark the occasion. there will be music, food, and a market with some really cool creatives selling stuff. i am happy to be one of the participants selling old and new krossbreed items. please come by to get your hands on zines, tees, publications, and more.

'ink, sweat & tears' happens on friday, 29 january 2016, from 12-7pm. for more details, have a look at the full program here. and if you're on facebook, head over to the event page.

hope to see you all at 'ink, sweat & tears'.

23.12.15

season's greetings

season's greetings . 2015

wishing everyone season's greetings and a krossbreed christmas to those celebrating. hope the holidays are being celebrated with loved ones, and filled with amazing presents!

a quick note on the illustration above – when coming up with an artwork to mark the occasion, i thought it would be fun to reference my current interests in old neighborhoods in dubai. i quickly thought of the trolley handlers who move heaps of items from place to place. to me, they're like little santas dropping off presents to all the grownups around the neighborhood.

once again, season's greetings y'all! see you all in 2016...

8.12.15

mural for facebook

shedha star grocery . 2015

sofia tailor . 2015

salon nad rashid . 2015

shabab al rashideya computer . 2015

community mural process . 2015

community mural . 2015

community mural detail . 2015

people who know me know that i am not a facebook account holder. it was something that totally passed me during university, and i've still never gotten around to opening a personal account. but funnily enough, i was approached by facebook recently to work on a mural in their offices in dubai, and was really ecstatic with the invitation.

for the mural, i wanted to communicate the important components that make a community. i created an illustration of a series of traditional shop fronts found in a lot of dubai’s communities. the selected shop fronts communicate the important institutions required for a community to be sustainable – from a grocery store to an electronic shop, to a barbershop and tailor. the selected shops for the mural culminate to define a thriving community that is familiar to dubai’s urban landscape.

the mural commemorates the importance of these shops and their contribution to a community’s sustenance. without the basic necessities these types of shops provide, a community wouldn’t be able to survive. just as an online community like facebook survives off the interactions of each other, communities in the physical world act in the very same way.

i was really happy with the end result and even surprised myself during the process. it's been awhile since i've worked on a mural of this scale, so was proud of the final outcome. thank you facebook for the opportunity, and i hope the team enjoys the mural during office hours. also, thanks to all my friends who helped and visited me while working on site. much appreciated.

6.12.15

a fresh, new look

krossbreed logo . 2015

with new beginnings comes a new look! after 5 years working on projects under the label krossbreed, i've decided to revamp the logo to mark a fresh new start, and have a logo that visually references the work i produce under krossbreed.

the new logo is a revised version of the previous logo used, still keeping it type based, but having a bold and hand drawn aesthetic to it, keeping with my illustration based practice. after many revisions and edits, which surprisingly took most of the year to work on, i am comfortable with the new logo you see here. i think it's simple yet still leaves an impact.

looking forward to announcing new projects and collaborations in the next few posts. stay tuned...