Amin Abbas

DUBAI: Emirati Comics and Illustrations, the movement initiated under the curatorial work of UAE-based lecturer Sarah Nesti Willard, has once more reached foreign audiences as the group is  exhibiting in Exeter, United Kingdom, at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS) until the end of May. 

The institute is an open gallery in a pavilion dedicated to research on Arab and Islamic civilizations. The exhibition ‘Between the Lines’ explores the balance between technical precision and conceptual creativity, utilizing the concept of lines as both frameworks and constraints.

Lines, as elements of design, can either facilitate communication by creating shapes and forms or impose limits by encapsulating and defining such shapes.  In this sense, lines represent both artistic freedom and boundaries.

Within these limitations, new iconic symbolism and ideas have been produced for the exhibition. On one side of the gallery, Maha Almheiri’s ‘Yokai’ series, along with a singular image dedicated to Palestine, fills the wall with peculiar manga-like creatures and bright colors. 

“The artwork showcased in the exhibition is exclusive to IAIS and had been worked on to match the theme as well as hold all the symbolisms and metaphors,” Almheiri told Arab News Japan regarding her participation. “A lot of research was done on various Palestinian symbolism as well as the UAE’s prominent monuments of all seven emirates. Color theory also was being heavily practiced, as I’m majorly influenced by Japanese illustrators and artists such as Mika Pikazo. Many people kept wishing to know more and even questioned the influences that led to the refined artwork displayed or the stories portrayed.”

Almheiri shared that it has been a while since she physically participated in an exhibition overseas. “This was a memorable trip,” she said. “The curiosity net as well as the deep talks we had about symbolism, the best next movement for digital art, and asking about our influences and inspirations helped us understand our own position as artists as well as what role the creative economy of the UAE should and could play.”

On the opposite side, the works of Khaled Al Jaberi, Amna Al Hammadi, Mohammed Alshaibani, Abdulla Al Sharhan, and Aysha Al Hemrani follow a more rigorous comic style, sparking up again in the vibrant and dazzling works of Alia Al Hammadi and Khalid Mezaina. The manga influences in the exhibition are strong, despite the different style each illustrator has developed.