leylam

leylam . 2014

it's all square exhibition invite . 2014

leylam . 2014

leylam at it's all square exhibition . 2014

i'm participating in the latest annual illustration exhibition organized by the domino titled 'it's all square'. all exhibited pieces had to fit the theme of presenting works in a square format. the piece i am showing is titled 'leylam'; an illustration i created last year as part of my 'city portraits' series, which i applied onto limited edition notebooks (see post here). 

if anyone is wondering what leylam means – leylam refers to an individual who walks around neighborhoods selling random items to the community. leylam is basically a walking shop, carrying items to sell in large sheets of fabric, screaming 'leylam leylam leylam' to let the community know he has arrived. someone who has lived in the uae for awhile would recognize this mysterious and efficient individual. unfortunately, the leylam is slowly disappearing and is becoming a figure of the past. my illustration pays tribute to the leylam and reminds people of this ephemeral individual.

please make sure to stop by the jam jar to check out the exhibition which runs until 12 may 2014. there are some great illustrations on show. also, i am selling a limited number of 'leylam' notebooks during the duration of the exhibition if you'd like to get your hands on one.

hear my voice – again

hear my voice illustrations . 2014

hear my voice posters . 2014 (courtesy of mobius design studio)

i was honored to contribute yet again to kalimati speech & communication center's second edition of 'hear my voice...' conference. just like last year, i was approached by mobius design studio to contribute illustrations for the conference's campaign they were designing.

this year's theme for the conference was 'empowering the deaf'. the required illustrations included various sign language gestures specifically created for the uae community; creating a vocabulary for the hearing impaired, empowering them to confidently communicate regardless of their condition.

i illustrated a total of ten signs. the above are a selection, along with some of the posters designed by mobius with the illustrations applied.

it's a great honor to contribute to such an important cause. i truly thank the kalimati team for making me be a part of their mission for a second year in a row. thank you mobius as well for the opportunity again.

a special thank you goes to noah for being my hand model! without his patience, i don't think i would've done a consistent job with getting these illustrations completed.

eve

eve . 2014

eve original sketch . 2014

eve at 'what do you hear?' for sikka . 2014

for dubai's 2014 art season (also known as march madness!), i kept my contribution to a minimum because of the extreme workload in the office at tashkeel. but any contribution is good i think!

for this year, i was invited to participate in reiner erlings first curated exhibition titled 'what do you hear?'. a short music piece was created by the reiner erlings team which was then shared with the contributing artists. each artist had to visually interpret the music and create an art piece which would be showcased at the sikka art fair.

my submission is the illustration you see above. titled 'eve', my piece is based on a female figure conceived from listening and interpreting characteristics from the music piece; a woman that is mysterious, mythical and magical. eve is tragic, sensual and seductive. a woman controlled, but in control.

for the presentation of my piece, i tried a different way of framing then usual. I presented eve as if in a space with depth, creating a box frame, where you peer inside to catch a glimpse of eve inside a dark space.

with a short timeframe to work with, i think i did quite a good job with the illustration. i absolutely loved the presentation of the framing and will definitely look into framing in a similar way on future pieces if relevant.

thank you to the reiner erlings family for inviting me to be a part of the project. looking forward to seeing it grow and hopefully will be a part of it in the near future.

72 by hues

72 by hues hotel minarets prints . 2013 

minarets prints at 72 by hues hotel (photograph by nikolas margaritis) 

i was approached by the girls from capsule arts to create artworks for a new boutique hotel recently opened in sharjah; 72 by hues. 72 by hues is a contemporary, stylish hotel which uses colour and vibrancy as a theme throughout its spaces. along with other commissioned artists, i was asked to contribute works that follow a similar criteria and submit pieces that relate to the culture of sharjah and hotel theme. 

working closely with capsule arts on the client's brief, i submitted revamped versions of an artwork i did years ago as an evite for ramadan (read post here). the final artworks worked well for the hotel as it relates to the culture of sharjah, using minarets as a main element in the artworks (sharjah being well known as a conservative, religious city) but presenting it in a abstract, contemporary way and using vibrant, pop colours.

the prints are currently up and on display at the hotel. if anyone does drop by, do make sure to check them out. i will definitely have to make a visit myself very soon.

thank you capsule arts for the opportunity. glad to have my artworks on display in a cool hotel.

diy zine workshop by me

diy zine workshop with khalid mezaina . 2014

it's the beginning of a new year, which means new projects ahead.

first in line for 2014 is a workshop i'm running at the magazine shop titled 'diy zine workshop' on wednesday, 15 january. due to positive feedback, & amazing results, from last month's workshop at the magazine fair, the team behind the magazine shop & i are bringing the workshop back for a second time, hopefully making this a bi-monthly event.

if you're interested in learning how to create your own low brow zine, then this is the workshop for you. all you need to bring with you is aed 20, & a mind full of creative ideas! to register, just send me an email.

for more information on the workshop, click here. looking forward to seeing you on the 15th.

i leave you with a quick inspirational gif of a result from the last workshop; a beautiful, abstract zine designed by sama. i absolutely love this & hope you do too. 

zine by sama . 2013

happy holidays from krossbreed

merry xmas . 2013

a quick post wishing all the krossbreed lovers a merry christmas with family & loved ones.

looking back, 2013 was a whirlwind of a year. looking forward to what the new year has to offer & hoping we have a great 2014 together.

happy holidays everyone. god bless...

krossbreed at the magazine fair

krossbreed at the magazine fair . 2013

if you have nowhere to be this coming saturday 7 december 2013, then head to the archive at safa park for the magazine fair, organized by the team behind the magazine shop.

the magazine fair is a fun outdoor one day event showcasing publications from the middle east who will be running their own stalls featuring their publications along with other scheduled activities. other participants include independent organizations & creatives who will be running their own activities on their very own stalls. also at the fair will be live music, & a bbq station to make it an enjoyable afternoon out.

i will be at the magazine fair with my own stall selling krossbreed products, including tees, notebooks, prints & more. i will also be running a diy zine workshop between 1-3pm where participants will learn & have fun creating a limited run of copies of their very own low brow, handheld fanzines.

for more information on the magazine fair, head to the link here.

& for more information on my participation at the fair & how to be a part of the workshop, head here.

looking forward to seeing you all at the magazine fair...