Khalid Mezaina
Khalid Mezaina is an illustrator and textile artist from the United Arab Emirates, based in Dubai. He is a graduate of the American University of Sharjah and the Rhode Island School of Design. He began his career working in UAE art institutions before establishing an independent studio practice in 2018. His work explores personal narratives, a city in constant change, and the things that bring him joy, which include comic books, pop music, ceremonial textiles, and dance. Khalid worked on this illustration while recovering from a torn ACL, hanging up his dancing shoes until completely healed. Dancing is an important part of his adult life, whether going out for a good dance with his sisters, or friends, or on his own. The dance floor is where he feels most free, sweating off life's many stresses for a few hours under a shiny disco ball. Unable to dance physically, Khalid picked up his pencil and began to draw, inspired by the music videos playing on his laptop and the communities born in dance halls and nightclubs. The final illustration captures the joy of getting lost in a crowd of strangers, lights, music, and movement.
Under the Disco Ball
There is a particular kind of freedom that only arrives on a dance floor. Lights turning overhead, music turned up loud, a crowd of strangers moving as one. This artwork celebrates that feeling, the few hours where the week falls away and the body takes over. It looks to the dance halls and parties that have brought people together for celebrations, and to the simple joy of being carried by a song. A reminder that dancing is one of the truest ways to feel alive, whether alone in a bedroom or lost among a hundred others under a shiny disco ball.
Illustrated by Khalid Mezaina (United Arab Emirates)
cancel Sold out
