no evil mural

hear no evil . 2012

see no evil . 2012

speak no evil . 2012

no evil mural process . 2012

no evil mural process . 2012

no evil mural . 2012

no evil mural . 2012

no evil mural . 2012

no evil mural (signature) . 2012

i was invited to create a mural for the maraya art centre as part of their initiative to promote local talent. 

for the concept, i decided to communicate the famous phrase 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil'. as we are all familiar with this phrase being communicated by the iconic monkeys gesturing each action, i wanted to communicate the phrase with my visual aesthetic, & relating the phrase in context to the region & community of the arab world, combining abstract forms with subtle cultural references & arabic language. the phrase 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' has been interpreted in many ways over the years. my visual interpretation of the phrase is it's always better to 'hear, see & speak' the right things in order to be a good person, & move away from all things evil...

a few thank you's are in order; this project wouldn't have been possible without the maraya art centre & their support. so thank you to the team for making this possible. a huge thanks also goes out to my favorite girls in the world layan & tulip, for helping me complete this mural on time. without their help, this mural probably wouldn't exist...

if anyone's interested in seeing the mural in person, make sure to drop by the maraya art centre to check it out. as all mural's have an expiration date, 'no evil' has a lifespan of at least 8 months until it disappears to make room for the next one by another talented artist.

happy halloween

halloween '12 . 2012

wishing everyone a happy halloween...

eid al adha '12

eid al adha . 2012

wishing all the krossbreed lovers out there a happy eid mubarak to you & your loved ones. god bless...

the illustration above was designed as an e-card used at tashkeel.

from me to you

from me to you (b/w) . 2012

from me to you . 2012

from me to you tee . 2012

the illustration above was my second contribution/design on t-shirts, for the present exhibition.

'from me to you' derived from the question’s ‘what would you leave as a present?’ & ‘ on a personal level, how are you present in the current landscape?'. 'from me to you' pays homage to the lovely gesture of gift giving & will hopefully leave a memorable mark on whoever purchases them. when the world grows older, & i no longer exist, i hope these t-shirts act as a memory of who i was, & the presence i had as an individual & designer.

this limited edition tee comes in a female cut only, & are currently on sale at the maraya art centre for the duration of the exhibition. again, if sharjah seems to be out of your way, you can always get in touch directly via email...

i dedicate this t-shirt (& all the tees created so far) to everyone who's supported my work & to all the krossbreed lovers out there...

camels & birds tee

camels & birds (gif) . 2012

camels & birds tee (male) . 2012

camels & birds tee (female) . 2012

over the years as krossbreed continues to grow & get recognition, one of the most popular designs people have enjoyed till this day has to be the camels & birds pattern. from tote bags to wallpapers, camels & birds has moved from the digital screen where it was conceived, to the public's personal & private domains.

during this time, i always wanted to have camels & birds printed on t-shirts. but whenever the opportunity arose, i was never ready for it. but the time finally arrived where i was comfortable & ready to make this happen. as a participant at maraya art centre's latest exhibition titled 'the present', i decided to create two new t-shirt designs, one being camels & birds (more on the second design soon!). to make everyone happy (i hope!), i decided to create two versions of the design, having the pink/black combination as a female tee, and the blue/black for males.

to get your hands on one of these limited edition tees, make sure to head to maraya art centre in sharjah where they are currently sold. but if sharjah seems to be out of your way, you can always get in touch directly via email...

king + queen

king + queen . 2012

king tee . 2012

queen tee . 2012 

a long due post, but here it finally is...

earlier in the year, i launched two new tee designs based on my king & queen illustrations, which were launched & sold at this year's art dubai's dxb store. both designs come in both male & female cuts, & are packaged in a nice 'deck-of-cards' inspired box, when you purchase both designs at once!

i guess the t-shirts were received well as they still get good feedback so far (yaay!).

the king & queen tees are still in stock, so if anyone is interested in getting their hands on one (or both!), make sure to get in touch via email...

a krossbreed gif

from me to you . 2012

a new illustration i created for an upcoming t-shirt design coming out later this month. details coming to you all very soon.

for now, enjoy the gif, which may i add, is my first attempt at making one! more gif's coming soon (fingers crossed)...

reflections & intentions

5 times a day . 2012

i was honored to be asked by art dubai to contribute a post for their ramadan special on their blog. i came up with the illustration above & the short write-up found below. to view the actual post, click here. 

"ramadan for me acts as a reminder to strive even harder to reach faithful bliss & become spiritually content. life’s distraction’s throughout the year unfortunately gets the best of me, pushing faith to a secondary & sometimes (dare say!) tertiary level! so when Ramadan knocks at our doors for its annual visit, i sit back & reflect over how i have treated life & what can be done better.

abstaining from food is the least of my woes during the holy month. Being a heavy eater was never really my thing to begin with! it’s abstaining from life’s other vices that are quite challenging. & with this year’s summer heat, jumping out of lazy mode is quite difficult. but i guess this is what it’s all about. figuring out solutions to daily woes.

For me, i think the most important thing is intention. during Ramadan, my actions reflect the good intentions i want to live by. in life, i think i’m generally a nice person (i hope!). But during Ramadan, i constantly keep myself in check & try not to step any inappropriate boundaries. simple tasks like breaking fast with the family, trips to the mosque, keeping track of the 5 daily prayers, giving to those in need, mean nothing if your intention is not genuine. so for the holy month, i choose to do these things & more, because i want to. And i hope to continue with the same intentions once ramadan is over."

i hope everyone had a pleasant ramadan & a great eid with family & loved ones.

lost in oz

lost in oz . 2012

i personally enjoy creating new original artworks for upcoming exhibitions. it keeps my creative juices flowing & helps improve my drawing skills.

i was asked to participate in the australian edition of 'crossing the line', where artist's from the middle east will showcase contemporary line drawings & artworks. i showed 'new direction' at the first edition held in dubai. i don't have the artwork anymore as it's been auctioned off for charitable purposes, which meant figuring out a new piece for australia.

i wanted to create something with the same visual aesthetic as 'new direction'. so i came up with the piece you see above, appropriately titled 'lost in oz'! there isn't much to explain, other then during the process, a lot of 'good' mistakes happened! the intention was to make the final piece look incomplete & minimal. so when the green overlay didn't completely print (was supposed to go across the page), i was actually satisfied with the error that occurred!

the exhibition will take place from the 14th july at the langford 120 gallery in melbourne, australia. stay tuned on the gallery's website for updates on the show...

summer is here...

creative summer . 2012

it's that time of year again, where the sun pays us long, hot visits & holiday is a mental state of mind! since summer already started here, it's time to take things easy & make the most of the beachy weather!

here's wishing all the krossbreed lovers a great summer. enjoy the break, always stay hydrated & make the most of it before it's gone.

have a creative summer folks...

rivers of the world part 3

river city . 2012

river culture . 2012

river of life . 2012

polluted river . 2012

resourceful river . 2012

working river . 2012

they're finally here!!! after 6 school workshops, 2 blog posts (see part 1 & part 2), scanning hundreds of children's artworks, & 3 months of intensive collaborative work with maie atabani, i finally present the final artworks created for the rivers of the world project. 

i'm really happy with the results & how each artwork is so different in character but still work as a set. i hope all the participants & organizers surrounding the project are pleased with the results as much as we are. i can't wait for the artworks to be displayed in my favorite city in the world, london, where dubai will be featured alongside other countries that have participated in this great project. i'm also quite curious to see how other submissions from around the world look. guess we'll find out in september!
a sentence or 2 on each of the individual artworks can be found below for those who would like to know more:
river city: student-made collages representing dubai's historical development & growth around the creek, which has grown ever since in the last 4 decades.
river culture: simple illustrations made by students to represent the daily findings & activities found around the creek.
river of life: water-colour paintings of the diverse habitat found around the creek, including birds & insects, compiled to create a dense, jungle-like final piece.
polluted river: student's inkblot prints composed to create a monster-like creature from the seas, reflecting the disadvantage of development, i.e. pollution.
resourceful river: the 'monty python' inspired piece! student's surreal collages of quirky & monstrous vehicles representing the creek as a mode of transport.
working river: stenciled imagery of dubai's labour force & other iconic imagery, representing the very crowded & busy creek as a centre for work & trade locally & internationally.

rivers of the world part 2

nad al hamar school workshop . 2012

nad al hamar school workshop . 2012

nad al hamar school workshop . 2012

al saeedeya school workshop . 2012

al saeedeya 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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

rivers of the world part 1

al ebdaa school workshop . 2012

al ebdaa school workshop . 2012

omar bin khattab school workshop . 2012

omar bin khattab school workshop . 2012

omar bin khattab school workshop . 2012

al khansaa school workshop . 2012

al khansaa school workshop . 2012

al khansaa school workshop . 2012

umm suqueim 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...