we met on the dance floor

'we met on the dance floor' by khalid mezaina & azim al ghussein . 2016

people who know me know my love for dancehall and afrobeat music. over the years, my thursday evenings have been occupied exploring dubai's many african clubs and dancehall nights. to me, the music genre is so lively, colourful and euphoric. i personally lose control on the dance floor when the music comes on! i have made new friends along the way, connecting with our love for the music and dancing the night away.

i've always wanted to share this story, especially now with a couple of dancehall and african clubs closing down, and friends i've met moving away. i collaborated yet again with my super talented friend azim al ghussein on a mini-comic titled 'we met on the dance floor'. story and pencils were done by yours truly, while inks and letters were done by azim. the end product is something we're both very proud of.

i'll keep this post short, and let you read the comic above. hope you enjoy it. if anyone's interested in owning a physical copy, i've printed a limited quantity, 14.8 x 21 cm (a5), priced at aed 20. get in touch and i'll hook you up.

i'd like to dedicate this mini comic to all the dancehall nights and african clubs in dubai, the djs and bands, my friends, and everyone i've met on the dance floor.

'we met on the dance floor' mini comic . 2016

drag queen realness

rupaul . 2016

bianca del rio . 2016

bob the drag queen . 2016

katya zamolodchikova . 2016

latrice royale . 2016

willam belli . 2016

here's a fun post for the weekend! i've recently been commissioned to illustrate a few drag queens from one of my favourite reality tv shows, rupaul's drag race.

apart from illustrating queens for the commission, i took the opportunity to work on a few of my favourite as well. above you can see the queen of all queens, rupaul, as well as my two favourites bianca del rio and bob the drag queen. the commissioned queens were katya zamolodchikova, latrice royale and willam belli. 

i hope drag race fans (and others) enjoy these portraits. might do some more queens in the near future.

made in tashkeel 2016

'made in tashkeel 2016' logo designed by myneandyours . 2016

observations series at 'made in tashkeel' . 2016

observations series at 'made in tashkeel' . 2016

observations series at 'made in tashkeel' . 2016

i am happy to announce my participation in this year's 'made in tashkeel' annual summer exhibition, showcasing the works of members created at tashkeel over the past year. i am exhibiting my 'observations series', a collection of textiles i created in 2015. all five textiles shown above were created at tashkeel, in the textile printing studio. 'observations series' was exhibited in abu dhabi last year, and i am happy it is being exhibited in dubai this year. so if you missed it, or would like to see it again, now's your chance to check it out.

'made in tashkeel 2016' opens today (25th may) and runs until the 1st september 2016. there are some amazing artworks ranging from paintings, photography, fashion, comic book illustrations, sculptures and mixed media. for more information on 'made in tashkeel 2016', head here. enjoy the show!

al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre – part two

carnivore textile for 'mealtime' . 2016

carnivore textile (detail) . 2016

'mealtime' installation at the al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre . 2016

'mealtime' installation at the al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre . 2016

'mealtime' installation at the al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre . 2016

'mealtime' installation at the al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre . 2016

'mealtime' installation at the al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre . 2016

earlier this year, i shared a collaborative project i worked on for the al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre (see previous post). this post features another commissioned artwork about the eating habits of the animals at al hefaiyah. I focused on the three main consumers of the food chain – herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.

the final artwork, titled 'mealtime', is a feast setting installation. The main components of the installation are three screen printed textiles which act as the table cloth. each textile and their printed graphics communicate the eating habits of each consumer. on top of the table cloths are items you'd usually find at a table setting – plates, napkins, cutlery – as well as natural objects like branches and stones, all relating to the eating habits of the animals. 'mealtime' is also located in front of the feeding kitchen, complementing the live activities and preparations of daily meals for the animals.

once again, if in the uae, one must check out the al hefaiyah mountain conservation centre. i would suggest you take a closer look at the artwork in person and find some interesting connections within the installation. and again, the centre overall is absolutely amazing and educational. the experience of seeing the animals as well as the various complementing artworks exhibited around the center is definitely worth the drive and something unforgettable.

big city trails

big city trails cover . 2016

big city trails pgs 4-5 . 2016

big city trails pgs 12-13 . 2016

big city trails pgs 20-21 . 2016

big city trails pgs 22-23 . 2016

'big city trails' is a project i hold dear to my heart. it started off as a conversation with a couple of backers wanting to create a children's activity book about the city of dubai. i was stoked with the idea of working on another activity book after 'never forget', and this time working on pushing children (and adults) to use their observational skills while exploring the city, looking beyond what they're familiar with and finding new areas to explore.
'big city trails' is about any big city, which is why i purposely don't refer to dubai in the publication. any child in any big city can relate to the book. the publication is filled with fun activities including colouring, observational and freehand drawing styles, finding alphabets and faces around the city, pattern making, finding shapes and listening to sounds around the city. what's also great about 'big city trails' is that its in english and arabic.
unfortunately the book was never officially published due to backers pulling out. but i did independently publish a short print run of 'big city trails'. so if anyone's interested in getting their hands on a few copies, email me and i'll sort you out. 'big city trails' is 22 x 28 cm, 28 pages (excluding cover), priced at aed 50.
to end this post, i'd like to dedicate this book to the city of dubai. thank you for all the adventures...

big city trails . 2016

big city trails spread (pgs 6-7) . 2016

hoof & fin

'hoof' character study . 2016

'fin' character study . 2016

'hoof & fin' panel sketches . 2016

'hoof & fin' inked panels . 2016

'hoof & fin' final . 2016

the last few weeks have been quite busy, with me offering workshops around town, and participating in a couple myself. one of these was a comic book making workshop, part of goethe-institut gulf region and the uae board on books for young people (uaebby) collaborative project titled 'books-made in uae'. the workshop was led by german manga artist inga steinmetz.

during the 5 day workshop, participants were taught the basics of drawing facial features and expressions, anatomy and proportions, storytelling and narrative. we also learnt how to create our own characters and communicate stories in four panels. the theme for each of our stories was about friendship.

for my four panel mini-comic, i created a story titled 'hoof & fin', which is about 2 characters from separate worlds but are the best of friends. i won't explain the story as you have the opportunity to read it above. but i absolutely fell in love with hoof and fin and definitely want to develop these characters and their stories further, to create a more mature comic. so stay tuned...

thank you inga for a fun workshop. even though i'm a huge comic book fan, i've never gotten around to creating one of my own, so this was a great opportunity to start. i'm definitely keen on making a few more comics before the year ends so i hope to do so. also, thank you bettina from the goethe-institut gulf region, eman from uaebby, the al jalila cultural center for children for hosting us, and all the participants in the workshop for a great 5 days.