come curious, leave inspired

nyuad the arts center season 19/20 cover final (front/back) . 2019

nyuad the arts center season 19/20 cover application on collateral . 2019

nyuad the arts center season 19/20 cover (digital) . 2019

dancing figures used in pattern . 2019

i'm very happy to be sharing the cover i designed for the new york university abu dhabi (nyuad) the art center's 2019-2020 season programme. i was approached by the center's team during my time at risd, and was unfortunately unable to work on it as i was occupied with school. but i'm so glad that they waited until i moved back home to work together.

for the cover, the brief was pretty simple – they wanted a fresh take for their cover, and have a minimal approach in comparison to their previous editions. i also had to work around this season's theme which was 'come curious, leave inspired'. with that in mind, i began working on a pattern which at first glance looks like an ordinary, organic pattern. but when taking a closer look, one notices the pattern is made up of overlapping and repeating dancing figures! it made sense to me to create a pattern based on choreography for the art center since their programming is filled with performances which include dance and various forms of movement on the stage.
the project went through a series of rounds until we settled on the final design you see above. the final design includes a narrow application of the pattern on the right end of the cover over a red background (this season's main theme colour). i've also shared some of the iterations for the cover at the end of this post which i thought were pretty fun.

to end this post, i'd really like to thank clive from the art center for initially reaching out and working together on this cover. i look forward to working together on future editions if the opportunity arises. and if anyone reading this is in abu dhabi, make sure to head down to nyuad to pick up a copy, and also make sure to attend some of the shows and performances – it's a really good season.

nyuad the arts center season 19/20 cover (round 1) . 2019 

nyuad the arts center season 19/20 cover (round 2) . 2019

nyuad the arts center season 19/20 cover (round 3) . 2019

fridaze

fridaze . 2019

i wasn't going to post this illustration on my blog, but i'm really happy with how it turned out and the story behind it, so why not! i stumbled upon a photo of myself on the interwebs, of me dancing at one of the afrobeats themed nights here in dubai. i was obviously consumed in the moment, completely unaware of my surroundings and that there was a photographer close by. i was just completely invested in the music and dancing.

the photograph online is hilarious – it's as if i was possessed or in a state of d(tr)ance! i just had to draw it and capture the energy via illustration. and what you see above is the final result of a spontaneous illustration i worked on last night. i tried a few new things on this – looser drawing lines and colouring and playing with textures and brushes.

keeping this short and sweet – hope you like this! and if you realllllllllllly want to find the photo this illustration was inspired by, try to find it here!

the alumni return

'the alumni return' e-vite . 2019

i'm happy to announce my participation in tashkeel's upcoming group show 'the alumni return', exhibiting thesis projects by recent mfa and ma graduates who studied abroad over the last 4 years and returned to the uae. i'm really excited to be exhibiting amongst many of my friends. we all traveled and experienced our versions of a masters programme away from home, and have come back changed humans and artists (hopefully for the best!).
i will be exhibiting my thesis project 'capes make the man' for the first time in the uae, and i'm really excited to be showcasing my thesis work at home. i'm curious to see how the audience here responds to the works compared to people in america. i hope everyone who gets to see it enjoys it as much as i did working on it.
photos will definitely not do justice to any of the works in the show, so please please please make sure to come down to the opening or during the duration of the exhibition to see the projects in person. 'the alumni return' opens on tuesday 17 september at 7pm, and runs until 29 october.
see you all at tashkeel for the opening of 'the alumni return' (insert star wars theme music here!!!)...

keep on rovein'

rove city centre's 'cabinet of curiosities' . 2016 (image courtesy of rove hotels)

laundromat mural at rove trade centre . 2017 (image courtesy of rove hotels)

rove trade centre's 'cabinet of curiosities' . 2017 (image courtesy of rove hotels)

 

laundromat mural at rove healthcare city . 2017 (image courtesy of rove hotels)

here's a post that's long overdue – i've been working with rove hotels for the last few years, supplying murals and art prints for their multiple properties around the city. with the support of the team at capsule arts, this relationship has continued to flourish over the years and i'm truly proud to have my work in most of the rove hotels around town. 

i've shared my first project for rove when they launched back in 2016 with rove downtown (see post here). over the next few years, the briefs have been quite similar, either replicating certain artworks for their various locations, or creating new works to fit with the theme and location of a specific property. it's great to see the laundromat mural, which was first created for rove downtown, being replicated and slightly revised for use in their other properties as well, including rove healthcare city and rove trade centre.

besides the mural, i've also been included in additional 'cabinet of curiosities' which are collections of artworks, imagery and objects that are displayed in the lobbies of the hotels, giving a sense of the surrounding area the hotels are located in. as seen here, i have a selection of prints included in rove city centre's 'cabinet of curiosities', focusing on deira, and the 'cabinet' at the rove trade centre which focuses on satwa and jafiliya neighbourhoods. for the deira theme, i provided a patterned print from my observations textiles series, a photograph of my tanak collection, and a couple of illustrations including 'leylam' and a new cafeteria storefront illustration (see end of post). included in the satwa/jafiliya themed 'cabinet' are a couple of illustrated prints, including the satwa print from my neighbourhood series, and a coloured illustration of a tailor in satwa, originally included in my never forget publication.

it's great seeing my work, both old and new, presented in the many rove hotels around dubai. thank you capsule arts for always putting my name forward, and to the team at rove for always having me on board! stay tuned for future rove projects...

al abra cafeteria . 2016