The renowned Lebanese illustrator tells TOB about her collaboration with the Beirut Art Center for ‘Beirutkon’, a design exhibition that presents an alternative to traditional souvenirs with a distinctive perspective on Beirut.

How did you become an illustrator?
I studied illustration at ALBA. After graduating in 2007, I published my Master’s degree project ‘Faits et méfaits’, an illustrated collection of ‘man-bites-dog’ stories. Since then, I’ve been working as a freelance illustrator for various children’s books and magazines. I recently illustrated a tale for children with Dergham book house, ‘Petit Shoe de Boutville’, written by Krystel Abimeri. Since 2009, I’ve been teaching graphic illustration at ALBA.

How would do define your style?
In my drawings’ sceneries, I create a world in which neither order, symmetry nor verticality exist. My universe gathers an amount of miscellaneous things that result into a whole. I like to convey an impression of dizziness, to make the reader feel that nothing in an image is constant. I love picturing wrecked and ‘potty’ characters. My drawing boards are full of details and I often use vivid colours.

What’s the story behind ‘Beirutkon’?
Carlo Massoud, Anastasia Nysten and Marc Dibeh, the three designers behind this project, contacted me in 2009 about a workshop that turned into a project for the Beirut Art Center’s design section. I immediately got a very positive feeling about this collaboration. My job consisted of illustrating the ‘Beirut souvenirs’ they created. I had the opportunity to express my individual Beirut experience in my own inspired way. I walked around Beirut’s streets in search for inspiration. In the end, I intended to put forward an incredibly contrasted city, full of funny and unusual details. I’d like to thank the three ‘musketeers’, the designers, for their inspiring talent.

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