Art Direction for two issues of L’Officiel Levant.
The concept of identity being formed through experience is not unheard of, but when the word 'Arab' is brought into the picture, identity becomes a bit more complex, and loaded with social, religious and political connotations, to name a few, thus making representations of Arab identity one of the more difficult challenges for anyone who tries to tackle the subject. Edward Said spoke of representations of the 'Orient' saying that " The exteriority of the representation is always governed by some version of the truism that if the Orient could represent itself, it would; since it cannot, the representation does the job, for the west, and … for the poor Orient". Said's theories were based on the notion that the Orient is the 'cultural other' of the West. That assertion in itself gives the orient a secondary role, and a sense that it must in someway belong to the west.
In attempt to investigate one form of visual representation of the above, and through a study of Arabic comic art, and specifically Arabic comic books' superheroes, it became apparent that many of the attempts to piece together a character defined as an 'Arab' superhero had leaned towards a loss of identity. The characters were stripped from any indicators of religion, culture, ethnicity, and in some cases, even physical features that would make them relatable to the Arab world, turning the character into a blank canvas, ready to reflect any image projected onto it.
The idea of identity being malleable to that extent is what interests me, leaving aside the generic definitions of identity, and possibly looking at it from another view, one that allows it to become an interactive definition.
"Formless: Progressions of a Hybrid Identity" is a publication involving a graphic dialogue between three different entities: a character, an environment, and a context. The progression takes place visually as they develop on their own, internally, and then start to interact causing themselves and the 'other' to develop both internally and externally. As the dialogue unfolds, the entities evolve through phases involving birth, interaction, awakening, lack, mimicry, exchange, empowerment, moving along to a state by which each of their identities is defined, that being a state of ever-changing hybridity. This brings about the concept of the 'formlessness' of a certain entity's identity at any point in time, negating the need and the struggle for defining oneself by place, time, context or any generically imposed terms involving a person or place's origins.
Album artwork for my previous band, Zeid and the Wings. The band’s music is based on electronic sounds, raw beats, acoustic instruments and vocal harmonies. The visual portrays the light nature of the music. Different elements from the band’s journey together in Beirut were combined in an almost dreamy illustration, with colors that reflect the lightness of tone in which the songs are written and performed.
Art direction for Nike's Spring 06 Design Innovations collection photo-shoot. The collection combined organic lines with solid geometric shapes, and a variety of textures and materials. The idea was to present each product with a simple pattern that is inspired by a single element that is visually present on one of the surfaces of each shoe. The patterns were handmade, printed on large sheets of film, and suspended behind each product respectively. The shoot highlighted the visual of the bottom of the shoe as well as a certain angle of each one to be able to demonstrate the intricate details that went into every product's design, as well as giving a feel of the traction surfaces.
The client, a jewelry designer trained in architecture, required a brand for her line of fine jewerly, as well as implementation across different brand material (business card, lookbook, package, and website.)