The Creative Block

Taurerewa

2011-09-12T10:05:00.002+04:00

Master of Ceremonies (details) Charcoal

Master of Ceremonies -charcoal on paper 59in x 80in

The works of Lorene Taurerewa blew me away the moment my eyes crossed her work online. The works vary from large-scale paintings to BW charcoal drawings intense in emotions and awkwardness all relating back to her inherited ancestry. Where animals and humans intermingle to create scenes of discomfort in familiar circumstances.

Wedding Guest

One could stare at her work for hours and feel intimidated by the dark emotions overridden by supremacy in vision creation. Stories are told and intensity revering to a fantasy world creating intense connections with the viewer. So much beauty embedded in the dark shadows and memories of the past, tradition and heritage in every brush stroke and line. Truly an inspirational artist whose work transcends our psyche to a realm far deeper than the reality that envelops us.

Treehorses - charcoal on paper 59in x 80in

www.taurerewa.com

Rhoda My Friend The Illustrator

2011-03-26T16:04:00.000+04:00

I have always loved my friend Rhoda's work, her crazy fantasy like figures integrated in scenes found only in nursery rhymes is mental and visual candy to anyone who loves to dream.

This is definitely an artist who has a different perception of the world and universe. Through the eyes of a dreamer we find great joy in these beautifully crafted scenarios of magic and innocence.

Untitled / 4 Color Litho

Jacques / B/W Etching

www.rhodatheillustrator.tumblr.com

The Introduction

2011-01-16T09:14:00.000+04:00

My grandfather has suffered quite a lot in the last few years, his health in constant spirals, he no longer is the man he was ten years ago. It is quite sad observing someone's physical down fall, to see that the 6 am morning runs and swims no longer exist. The sternness of their characters, which force us all to sit up right and grant respect with a kiss on the head or on their dry palms are now overshadowed with pity. When it was once a mix of love and fear, it now resides as Love and Confusion.

The idea that we exist but our former selves die. Who are we really? Living on past experiences, past judgements, past personas it is time that forces a shift in the nature of us all. Time allows us to be present but are we really there? The experience of those around us, their interactions alter from being relaxed and comfortable to confusion. We learn what the new person is all about. We believe that they are the same. But really introductions are inevitable. Hi my name is Lamya I am your grand daughter.

Testing testing

2010-09-05T21:17:00.000+04:00

You know how it is when you just want to jump into the studio grab whatever it is you find and attempt to create. No concept, no thinking just pure need to discover. I still haven't found anything that I am deeply fond of yet but I forced my friend Dalal and sis to come in for a shoot in my studio. Ramadan being a very difficult month to be charged with physical energy they still came in and we had a good time. You may wonder sometimes if your mind will ever truly be clear of the shambles; if maybe this amazing idea will pop and you realise "Hey I got Eureka".. well don't lose hope, as I was telling a friend of mine being lost if part of being found and "finding". Let's keep looking, and let us discover.. I guess the key is to never give up. It's hard to stay convinced, committed and maybe even inspired.. and that is what makes us human.

Madame D

Madame D & Feef

Ramadan Mubarak!

2010-08-12T17:02:00.000+04:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a blessed Ramadan.
May God's mercy and blessings shine on every one of us and may all our prayers be answered.

Wishes for happiness, health, love and peace all around the world.

Do create your own Ramadan greetings and send them over to Design by Dubai
Let's keep art in Dubai alive!

Cary Grant?

2010-08-03T18:20:00.001+04:00

I have no idea why but my grandfather is always a source of creative inspiration for me. It could be because we have too many pictures of him around or that he looks so fine in his suit and kandoora. He reminds me of old hollywood his sense of style and the way he carries himself in his photos; the Middle East's answer to Cary Grant. Doesn't everyone from that era just look so beautiful?

He passed away when I was young and therefore my only memories are based on other's.
May he rest in peace.

I've created this image in memory of him.
Dedicated to you grandpa with a warm hug. x

Grandfather Trafalgar Square
Ink & Acrylic
29.7 cm x 42 cm

I love Chan -Hyo Bae

2010-08-02T00:53:00.001+04:00

When I first saw his work at the Saatchi gallery in London this summer I fell in love with it. The alienation and estrangement of these images are illustrated through historic British females, modeled by the artist himself. The immaculate beautiful executions of the fairy tale scenes express timelessness interrupted with foreign figures, which explain to us his desire to become British.

A lot of the concepts for the images are also based on fairy tale figures such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Swan Lake. This make-believe concept branches from a childhood desire to dress up, but upholds an unfriendly estranged sensation implied through the presence of masculinity with these meticulous fantasy scenes.

His work is stunning and proves to all artists the need to be honest and personal when it comes to the concept and message.

“The sun never sets over the British Empire.” The country of Queen, the country with pride in her history and tradition, still seems to be breathing in Great Britain. I try to become British just as a child pretends to be a mother by dressing in her clothes and making up with her cosmetics. The attempt to become British is to me what a child tries to do in dressing as an adult. Although the mother’s clothes are unsuitable for the child, the child still tries to dress as its mother, trying to express its existence as another person. The language of a child. In becoming a British lady, which may seem gauche, it is my language.”

Chan -Hyo Bae

The Elephants & The Rabbits

2010-07-29T04:40:00.000+04:00

I decided to go on a tangent and maybe shift away from photography (not permanently just for a while), excited about illustrating and getting my hands dirty again I found inspiration in Kalila wa Dimna.

Kalila wa Dimna is a collection of tales originating in India more than 2000 years ago, which was then translated from Persian into Arabic by Abdulla Ibn al-Muqaffa.

The stories I decided to illustrate or paint are The Elephants & The Rabbits and The Owls & The crows.

I’ve started to illustrate human and animal and create this hybrid the past three years. I am a thinker and visualize and subconsciously this hybrid felt logical. It was not for a specific project as I had various sketches laying around notebooks and loose paper but to me the idea that there are great similarities between animals and humans.

I would really like to see where I would go with this. There’s no harm in trying right?

Here are some shots of two of the pieces taken with my blackberry in my modest studio.

Sand & Cement

2010-07-27T15:07:00.001+04:00

An interesting digital interpretation of the stirring city of Dubai realized through the title of “ Sand & Cement” created by young talent Amina Khansaheb.

“Dubai has transformed from a desert to a city of cement overnight. Sand and Cement is an analysis of that change. Cement became the skeleton that holds the city together and brings it its glory whereas the sand still remains the part that has reserved the origins and roots of Dubai.  

This project is an exploration of how two different landscapes merged together to form a city. In order to create a link between the two different elements I deconstructed the city looking at the roads as the skeletons that will hold together sand and cement. I used the interior and exterior of buildings to integrate the desert with the skyscrapers”.

The Burj

2010-07-27T14:54:00.001+04:00

My interpretation of The Burj Khalifa in Dubai created through painting, collage and a finale of digital alteration to refine the whole look. This was a fun project created around the time of The Burj's infrastructural debut within the city.

Bored in my world

2010-07-07T02:40:00.000+04:00

Dead bored I decided to get back to my digi roots and start experimenting with nonsense on my laptop to see what I can come up with. So I call this image "Lamya Bored and decided to work on a photo of herself she found alongside some scanned peices and this is what it gave birth too". I also realised the title is too long but cannot bother to give it another boring name.

The Forty Rules of Love

2010-07-07T00:53:00.002+04:00

I picked up the book in Istanbul airport, to be honest I was not looking for a good read but the cover caught my attention and decided to give it a shot. The book rested on my shelf for a good few days after I arrived to Dubai. The first few pages blew me away and I was hooked. Forty year old Ella caught in an unhappy marriage always been safe and careful in life, the excitement's all gone, what is there to look forward to? It is a personal spiritual journey that ties Ella with an unknown author who's book "Sweet Blasphemy" deals with 13th century scholar Rumi & his relationship with the wandering dervish Shams Al Tabrizi.

Leaving these characters behind once the book came to an end was sad, feeling very much a part of this book and the individuals within..I am Rumi, I am Shams and Ella...

For those interested in history and spiritual enlightenment entangled in romance this book is a definite must read unless you are a hater of romance and spirituality I suggest you find yourself a nice cook book and we can leave it to that hehehehe

"Love is the water of Life"

Jalal Al Din Rumi

A Dedication to Miss H

2010-07-07T00:43:00.004+04:00

I love love love working with Diana Hawatmeh! I miss her loads! Diana where are you ??!!! across the Globe having a blast in NY.... I've always found her work inspirational and her sense of composition and type blows me away every time. Her dedication to the Arabic language and strive to showcase our culture through design and type is unique. We both went to AUS ( American Uni of Sharjah ) but she was a year below me, it was only after we worked in AMG ( Arab Media Group ) in Dubai that our friendship blossomed. Our usual lunches at Black Canyon where me, her and Rhoda would sit discussing future projects and whining and complaining like any normal employee.. Our usual sword fights in between projects and Ola ( marketing manager ) coming in to let us know that we should stop working on what we were working on ( which is inclusive of a good weeks worth of work + lack of sleep lol ) to tell us that there is something else we need to be working on. She did claim to name her first unborn child after us ( in hopes that it would serve as the best incentive to keep us motivated and working ) , Ola sorry but I highly doubt a Lamia, Rhoda, Diana + the hundred other names would be healthy for child who would probably have to spend an hour writing his poor name down. LOL... Here I go again going on a tangent when I should be talking about miss Hawatmeh's artistic wackiness in the land of type. If anything Diana, thank you for making something that could potentially be ultra boring into something so exciting. If you have a strong appreciation for type then you will find Miss Hawatmeh's work an art form on it's own. Goes to show you devotion to what you love can eventually blossom into something so beautiful. I love type thanks to you DIDI!! you may be indecisive and your fingers fidgeting with the volume, ipod, phone, ac in the car like 50 times but i realized I do not like listning to songs all the way through.. so again I thank you for allowing me to hear only half of what is meant to be a 3 min song, and I don't mind waves of heat and cold in between either. You truly are unique * Bear Hug* missing you loads.

Diana's work

www.dhawatmeh.com

The Fox & The Drum

2010-07-06T15:38:00.003+04:00

Inspired by Kalila Wa Dimna's folk tales, The Fox & The Drum is a story that tackles the notion of greed via personification of humans through animals. The fox hears of the beautiful sounds of the drum created by the wind and in that moment his greedy nature incites him to attack the drum to seek what meaty luxuries is entailed within. He is soon disappointed to find out that is it empty and hollow and from that moment on no beautiful sounds were made. Kalila wa Dimna originated in India around the 3rd century BCE was translated in Pehlavi or old Farsi and were translated in Arabic by Abdulla ibn Al Muqaffa in 750 CE. Since then they have become a huge part of our Arabic culture.

This is an ink illustration I did on wood and showcased it at Art Dubai with The Third Line Gallery.

I went on a tangent hehehe…but my camera will always be my right arm.

It is important to experiment and see how can work can be developed. It is also stated that breaking a routine or habit can stimulate ones psyche. Not that photography is a bad habit, but you know it’s a healthy diversion (in my mind at least lol).

Mr Kamaci

2010-07-06T15:17:00.004+04:00

I met ÖZANT KAMACI, pronounced Kamaji, while I was printing work at Michael Dyers Printers in Covent Garden London for the Venice Biennale. As I was awaiting for my prints to come to life Steve (one of the printers) had informed me of another guy who was to move to Dubai, he also mentioned that he was undertaking the same MA program at Central Saint Martins which was The Communication Design /Photography Pathway. He was very keen and excited about introducing us to each other and little did I know that we would remain good friends after that. How odd? I thought to myself, what are the chances that I would meet my first Dubayan who went to the same school as me, who was Turkish and had the same passion for photography as I did. From the moment I lay my eyes on his work I fell in love with the photographs. His work is a true inspiration stemming from a true and genuine understanding of the "image", the modern and an appreciation for time. The visual construction of the work not only requires time and dedication but also patience as Ozant spends hours waiting for his subject to come to life. The work refers to an amalgamation between machines ( planes to be more specific) and nature in a way where their mere acquaintance is not a struck of luck, but a true artists appreciation and alertness of interactions that take every day and every second and that we fail to acknowledge. His work is greatly inspired by classical landscape paintings, which is evident the moment you cross paths with his photographs. Please check his website and you will understand exactly what I am talking about. My favorite projects of his are Pause & Landing; Ingenius Kamaci cannot wait for your next project.

http://www.ozant.com/

Story Telling

2010-07-01T16:56:00.005+04:00

Me and my friend Diana Hawatmeh have worked on a series of 8 sketchbooks together that entail my illustrations and her typography and composition. They encompass an integration of animal illustrations, typography and type composition to bring to life a new form of animal human representation. Also, very much influenced by the concept of story telling. Each sketchbook entails a different story. The sentences or titles encompassed within are Arabic sayings, which have been altered in accordance with the image or visual.

Therefore a word-to-word translation would leave the western audience confused, but then again so will the Arab audience. This project is fairly experimental and serves as a stepping-stone for future projects to come.

Sketchbooks are sold at The Third Line Gallery, Ductac, S*auce and Shelter in Dubai. If interested in purchasing please contact me on Lamya.gargash@gmail.com

Experimental Creative Block

2010-07-01T16:08:00.000+04:00

I don't know if many of you creative people go through months of artistic blockage. I do not know if I am alone! but am starting to get real desperate to create something! anything give me your grandmas teacup and maybe turn it into a hat? for your cat? ok ok I'm delirious... I do believe that we are sometimes hard on ourselves assuming that our minds should keep churning fabricating art expressing our creative needs and ideas... the harder you are on yourself the less likely you can create.. take it easy be inspired at least that is what I am trying to do. I've done a lot of reading so I guess it isn't all a waste of time.