cafeterias of the uae

al shabab cafeteria . 2016

eat & drink restaurant . 2016

fast meal restaurant . 2016

pearl star restaurant & cafeteria . 2016

shaikha cafeteria . 2016

tasty food restaurant . 2016

i've worked on a new series of illustrations titled 'cafeterias of the uae' which was a recent commission for the abu dhabi music & arts foundation (admaf)'s current exhibition 'portrait of a nation' - bringing together a selection of uae's practicing artists and presenting their reflections and perspectives on their homeland. below is the statement on my approach to the commission:

"the uae has a rich history of ‘shawarma’ shops and cafeterias all across the country, catering to not just specific communities in the uae, but the entire nation as a whole. emiratis, expats and everyone in between flock to these cafeterias daily for an affordable sandwich, a humorously titled juice, or a plastic cup of sugared, steaming hot chai! these cafeterias are iconic structures in the uae's culture and urban landscape. not only are they places of social encounters, but places of deep context in understanding food culture of the uae. through illustration, i would like to archive these cafeterias as important, iconic institutions and it’s importance to their communities. in the uae, major cities like dubai and abu dhabi are growing at an exceptionally fast pace, changing the landscape of a city tremendously, with things of the past unfortunately getting lost. only time will tell if these cafeterias will survive through these current changes. i hope these illustrations would act as a form of documentation and nostalgia for anyone that has encountered these cafeterias while growing up in the uae."

'portrait of a nation' is currently open for viewing and is located at the emirates palace. if in abu dhabi, please do make your way to the show. for more information on the exhibition and timings, head to the link here.

this is definitely not the end of this series and only just the beginning. i would like to document more cafeterias around the uae and create a publication about it so stay tuned folks. thank you admaf for the opportunity, your hard work, and getting me started on this series. i end this post with the illustrations as displayed in the exhibition, as well as an image of khalil abdul wahid's sweet artwork based on my process for this project from his series 'artist tools'.

'cafeterias of the uae' at portrait of a nation . 2016

'artist tools (khalid mezaina)' by khalil abdul wahid . 2016

beyoncé & other super heroines

'fade away & illustrate 002: beyoncé & other super heroines' front cover by khalid mezaina . 2016

janet jackson by khalid mezaina . 2016

kesha by azim al ghussein . 2016

kylie minogue by khalid mezaina . 2016

lady gaga by azim al ghussein . 2016

madonna by khalid mezaina . 2016

nicki minaj by azim al ghussein . 2016

'fade away & illustrate 002: beyoncé & other super heroines' back cover by azim al ghussein . 2016

i'd like to start off this post by thanking everyone that came by the great+everlasting booth at the middle east film & comic con (mefcc) over the weekend. it was great meeting you all and thank you so much for the support.

i wanted to share the second issue of fade away & illustrate, which was done in collaboration with my best mate and talented artist azim al ghussein. for issue 002, the theme was 'beyoncé & other super heroines', where azim and i illustrated our favorite female pop artists as super heroines. the theme was relevant to mefcc, and was launched over the con weekend. each of us drew 10 pop stars, as well as this issue's cover star, beyoncé. even though our illustration styles are quite different, we compliment each other very well in this issue.

above is a teaser of some of the illustrations you'll find in the zine. if you'd like to own a copy (trust me, you want one for yourself and your friends), send me an email and the issue is yours. 'fade away & illustrate 002: beyoncé & other super heroines' is 14. 8 x 21 cm (a5), 28 pages, priced at aed 30.

a big thank you goes to azim for collaborating on the issue, as well as partnering for great+everlasting at mefcc. looking forward to more collaborations. stay tuned folks...

great + everlasting

great + everlasting at middle east film & comic con . 2016

i am pleased to announce that i will be participating in this year's middle east film and comic con (mefcc). my super talented friend azim al ghussein and i will be sharing a booth selling print and illustrated material. we've titled our booth 'great + everlasting', which is a simple translation of our names from arabic.

'great + everlasting' will be at mefcc from the 7th - 9th april 2016, booth number sc166. make sure to stop by and say hello, and buy some really cool original fancies! expect comics, zines and more.

for more information on mefcc, make sure to check out their website. see you soon...