BarakaBits
  • Business
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Women-Led Enterprises
    • Youth in Business
  • The Arts
    • Art & Photography
    • Books, Blogs & Poetry
    • Design, Fashion & Architecture
    • Music
    • Theater & Dance
    • TV, Film & Online Video
  • Dailylife
    • Challenge to Change
    • Discovery
    • DIY & Life Hacks
    • Food for Thought
    • Heritage
    • Travel
    • Wellness Inside Out
  • Education
    • #NeverStopLearning
    • Classroom 2.0
    • The VIP Section
  • Environment
    • Green Policy
    • Sustainable Design
    • Upcycling & Recycling
  • Science & Tech
    • Lab to Life
  • #Barakability
    • AMENA
    • Memory Bank
    • Opportunities
    • Portraits
  • Countries
  • Submit a Story
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Subscription Form
BarakaBits
  • Business
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Women-Led Enterprises
    • Youth in Business
  • The Arts
    • Art & Photography
    • Books, Blogs & Poetry
    • Design, Fashion & Architecture
    • Music
    • Theater & Dance
    • TV, Film & Online Video
  • Dailylife
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Science & Tech
  • #Barakability
  • عربي
  • Art & Photography
  • The Arts
  • TV, Film & Online Video

Artists Bringing Up Artists: An Interview with Cairo’s Twins Cartoon

  • December 17, 2014
  • No comments
  • 3 minute read
Total
2
Shares
2
0
0
0
0
0

Twins Cartoon is the moniker of two artists who are (as you might imagine) brothers — but you might now know it, given how little information exists publicly about them. Rather than ever presenting themselves as separate entities, they instead exist as one unit (the eponymous Twins).

It’s this fact that’s a testament to their success, and the absolute precision with which they operate, seamlessly completing tasks as a duo. For every artist who wished they could clone themselves to get all their work done, there is Twins Cartoon.

Two examples of artwork from Twins Cartoon

Mohammad — who spoke to us on the phone — and Haitham have nailed down their creative process, “We graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, and started our career together,” he explained. “We can both draw, but Haitham is better at character design, colouring, and I am better at layout and storyboard design.”

Since they started working at 2007 they have created an impressive portfolio of work, having seen their art used as far as Europe (Majid Magazine) and Canada (Star Publishing). They also worked with UNICEF educational supplement, illustrating online lectures – giving resources to people in classrooms which lacked them. They haven’t limited themselves in what they have used their art for, and it reflects their ethos.

“Creativity can be everywhere, in business, in every day life. If you’re making a pharmacy, you need banners made, you need designers. Everything is creativity for me. My eye is a camera, I see it everywhere.”

Their own humble beginnings, having been encouraged from an early age by their parents, who took them to gallery openings, have given them a unique and refreshing perspective on how to act within the local scene.

Some more artwork from Cairo artist duo Twins Cartoon

This gave them space to work at the Luxor Cinema Festival, an international workshop for film-making which allowed them to soak up the culture of many countries around them, “It was cultural exchange, between us and Kenya, Algeria, Libya, Rwanda, I even learnt some things about Egyptian culture!”

They worked on a project called Kawkab el Rasameen (“Painters Planet”), which saw them take established local artists and pair them with underground works to work together bringing colour to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, and more. “It’s a workshop, not a class. Workshop means teamwork; why can’t I learn as much from these artists as they can from me?”

Their relative fame in the scene, as well as international experience, has not changed them. “I don’t like the artist who [gets famous and] says, ‘I am [done] with this place.’ – the greatest gift Allah gave you is your creativity. You have to make your world into a bridge.” Bridging the gap between artists of different levels, as well as artists and their community, is important, given the situation. “Egyptian artists have it harder – we have the talent, but not the platform to showcase ourselves.”

Two more artworks from Twins Cartoon, artists from Cairo

And because they practice what they preach, their next step is to start a magazine with their significant pull, showcasing underground artists to the world, giving them a voice. “Cairo doesn’t sleep,” Mohammad muses. “There are always people creating here. It’s never been easier thanks to the internet.”

They are a force to be reckoned with. Even though they have worked individually, they are at their best when they are a team. When you speak to one, you really feel like they have a connection to each other that goes beyond words. In fact, they are also working on an animation, a light-hearted take on what it is to be a twin.

“Really the greatest experience is having a twin. In art, I am like half a person without him. We are practically stuck together. We do everything with each other, even though we also have our own lives.”

“We have our own girlfriends. We live together. We share everything, apart from our girlfriends,” he laughs.


Content provided by ProjectPen.com

For more on Twins Cartoon, visit their Facebook Page

-Interview by Chris Yeoh

 

2
0
0
0
Share 2
Tweet 0
Total
2
Shares
Share 2
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • art
  • artists
  • Cairo
  • Egypt
  • International
  • learning
  • twins
  • twins cartoon
  • underground
  • UNICEF
  • workshop
Project Pen

Hi! We're Project Pen, we're from Amman, Jordan. We publish stories in English and Arabic, from young writers all over the Middle East - to readers of a new generation. We're building the biggest content hub for stories in the region, and connecting authors with each other along the way. So, if you have an imagination, we want to meet it. Sign up to projectpen.com today, tell us a story, and yours might be the next one that we publish!

Previous Article
  • #NeverStopLearning
  • Education
  • The Arts
  • Theater & Dance

How This Circus Can Change Palestine’s “Special Situation”

  • December 16, 2014
View Post
Next Article
streets of istanbul
  • Art & Photography
  • The Arts

Optical Illusions in the Streets of Istanbul

  • December 17, 2014
View Post

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

You May Also Like
View Post
  • The Arts
  • TV, Film & Online Video

10 Internationally-acclaimed Arabic Movies

  • February 1, 2021
View Post
  • Art & Photography
  • The Arts

Planning a trip to the UAE? Here’s a list of the ten best photography locations across the Country!

  • April 7, 2019
View Post
  • Education
  • Role Models
  • TV, Film & Online Video

AraVid, A Passion For Teaching and Learning Languages

  • November 3, 2017
View Post
  • The Arts
  • TV, Film & Online Video

Pari Will Be Ready to Scare You on 31 of October 2017

  • October 16, 2017
View Post
  • Music
  • The Arts
  • Uncategorized

Arab American Radio; Fusion Music, Comedy, and New Programming

  • September 28, 2017
View Post
  • Books, Blogs & Poetry
  • Education
  • The Arts

We Love Reading; An Arab Initiative Making Children into Leaders

  • September 27, 2017
View Post
  • Design, Fashion & Architecture
  • The Arts

Spring Fashion, Joyful Designs by Sara Yasso

  • September 24, 2017
View Post
  • Design, Fashion & Architecture
  • The Arts

Patterns and Repeated Designs: One Girl's Love for Geometry

  • September 19, 2017

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending
  • 1
    Six Reasons to Invest in Dubai Property
  • 2
    How Does a Sharia Mortgage Work?
  • 3
    Joining the Healthcare Industry with an Online Degree
  • 4
    3 Must-Haves in a Job Listing Post
  • 5
    5 Reasons Why You Should Buy a Dishwasher
Get some good news to your email

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Countries
Libya Yemen Algeria Jordan United Arab Emirates Turkey Iraq Syria Oman Tunisia Egypt Saudi Arabia Iran Morocco Palestine Lebanon Kuwait QatarBahrain
Stay Connected
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube Subscribers
Categories
  • Business
  • The Arts
  • Lifestyle
  • Education
  • Environment
  • #Barakability
Company
  • About Us
  • Archives
  • Intern at BarakaBits
  • Submit a Story
  • Why Advertise With Us?
  • Contact Us
BarakaBits
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Good News from the Middle East

Input your search keywords and press Enter.