About
My work has been described in many ways but I like to think of it as playful and vibrant. I use a variety of mediums.
My paintings are inspired by memories and dreams as well as by nature, by life cycles and how the world within us colours the world outside us.
My animated films are made by hand using paint, paper, glass and cut-out. I love how animation reveals things in real time and love working with sound and music to create a whole world. My animations have been screened at film festivals all over the world, winning many awards along the way.
My fabric designs are created by hand, inspired by nature, it's natural patterns and rhythms in colour. I see my prints as moving pieces, sometimes worn as a scarf, sometimes becoming a mural or part of an abstract animated film or sculpture.
My drawings range from capturing dancers in motion to dinner theatrics. I draw every year for the Met Opera, creating prints inspired by their musical productions.
My paintings, murals and textile prints are in various private and public collections in the US and the UK. I've been commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera House, NYC; the Chicago Lyric Opera, the San Francisco Opera, to create prints and silk scarves inspired by their productions. Album covers and murals for BMG Sony Classics, NYC and Berlin, oil paintings and fabric designs for Absolut Vodka, a scarf for Delta Airlines. I was commissioned to create two fabric design prints for the United States Department of State, silk scarves for the Pierre Hotel, the Guggenheim Museum, Neiman Marcus, and Liberty of London, and created an award winning illustrated book 'Granita Magic' for Artisan Publishing House, NYC among others.
My animations have been screened at film festivals around the world, winning many awards along the way. I have created hand painted animated backdrops for the plays 'Drowning Crow' at the Manhattan Theatre Club and the musical 'Grey Gardens', both of which were realised on Broadway. My animations formed the backdrops for the comic opera 'Naked Revolution' at the Guthrie Theatre Lab in Minneapolis and at The Kitchen, NYC. My animations have also been projected with live musical performances at Le Poisson Rouge NYC, City Winery NYC and on the stage at Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC. I have hand animated and directed several short films for HBO TV, PBS TV, and Sesame Street, and animated sequences for the documentary film In Glorious Smell-O-Vision. I animated three highly successful national TV commercials involving 50's Hollywood movie stars as vegetables for Publicis Advertising Agency. MOMA purchased my award winning hand drawn animated film 'Serenade' for their picture collection.
Awards include
Awarded The Tom Phillips Drawing Prize
First prize Asifa East Charles Samu Award
The Black Maria Directors Choice Award
The Ann Arbor Film Festival Audience Prize.
Best single subject cookbook for USA, Gourmand award Granita Magic which I wrote and illustrated is a testament to the marriage of food and art.
Born in London, from Egyptian descent, I lived and worked as an artist in New York City for 28 years, my studio is now based in London since 2020.
(Feel free to contact me for exhibitions, murals, or for anything! I love to collaborate! )
My silkscreen print 'Balancing Act' can be purchased on line at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2024