Approached by Mosaiques to collaborate on the creation of a unique collection of wall stickers with a resolute Middle Eastern flavor, the Khatt Foundation, spearheaded by Huda AbiFarès undertook the task of putting out an open call to its 1025-member network of designers. From around 150 entries, 19 were selected to be included in the Khatt Design Collection, and will be launched at the ‘Project Mulsaq’ exhibition at Traffic Gallery in Dubai.
This first Khatt Design Collection of wall stickers reflects contemporary Middle Eastern design trends, allowing designers form the region to express themselves about their own identity and culture. This simple design product has been turned into a vehicle for showing a ‘real’ and non-stereotypical image of the diverse and geographically widespread Middle Eastern/Arab culture.
The designs presented in this collection are distinct voices that explore the personal versus the historical/cultural heritage and national context of each designer. The work plays with the typical cultural symbols and myths but in untypical presentations, mixing the local with the global, the old with the new. This Khatt Design Collection of wall stickers is an impressive mix of traditional Arabic calligraphy and poetry, Islamic and Arabic vernacular symbols, humorous and thought provoking visual puns, all presented in a distinct contemporary form that shows the aesthetic diversity of visual language and graphic design from the Middle East.
