emirati 2051

emirati 2051 . 2011

i was recently asked to contribute an illustration for a magazine article commemorating the uae's 40th anniversary. people were asked to answer the question 'how do you see the uae in another 40 years?'. my answer was a visual representation of how people might evolve in their appearance & fashion, with a krossbreed flair! 

in 2051, i think the uae will look like a page out of a sci-fi comic book! buildings will continue to rise with weird forms & people will evolve with their dress sense. traditional attire will become modernized, silhouettes will evolve and fashion will adapt to harsh desert climate change, making people go back to basics, wearing what their ancestors used to...

feast: shopopolis at abu dhabi art

feast: shopopolis postcard . 2011

i am really happy to announce that the project i worked on during my artist residency in london this summer is being exhibited over here in the uae! for details on the feast: shopopolis project click here.

the emirates foundation have an exhibition space at this years abu dhabi art fair & had the wonderful idea of bringing the designed products created in collaboration with public works to be displayed right here at the fair.

its quite surreal to see the project once again, this time in a different space. i am proud that the project has come to my hometown & i'm here representing it.

if anyone's planning on heading to the fair this week (last day is 19th Nov.), please make sure to pass by the emirates foundation booth in gallery 3 to check out the feast: shopopolis products. for those of you who didn't have the opportunity to see it in london, now's your chance!

eid mubarak

eid mubarak . 2011

wishing everyone (especially the krossbreed lovers!) a happy eid mubarak. may you & your loved ones be blessed by god's grace & all your prayers are answered.

new direction

new direction . 2011

new direction (detail) . 2011

they say the best works are produced when under pressure! & for the first time, i felt the same way.

i was asked to participate in tashkeel's latest exhibition titled 'crossing the line'. the exhibition is a contemporary & unconventional showcase of drawings by artists based in Australia, UK & the UAE. it was quite interesting to be a part of a show that was varied in styles, but still fall under the category of drawing.

i called my piece 'new direction' because i fell in love with the end result, even though the process of finishing this piece was the shortest i've worked on so far. i started off with a simple organic black & white line drawing of a figure drowned in a plethora of organic & geometric shapes. but the drawing needed something extra to push it to the next level as a finished piece. so the idea of screen printing an extra layer came to mind which worked perfectly. the screen printed pink geometric shapes made the final piece pop & stand out as a strong artwork.

i personally love the combination of hand drawing & screen printing to create a piece. it's definitely a technique i will start using for upcoming artworks, giving my works & practice a 'new direction'...