Papercutting Silhouettes – the Art of Tariq “Rick” Sharif

With a stroke of madness and hours to himself playing with blades, a local comedian has managed to turn sheets of paper into head-turning art.

Tariq ‘Rick’ Sharif, a Marketing Communications Professional by day, has always been a fan of comics with a love for art. While trying to print a poster of the popular Marvel character, Spiderman, Rick came across a few difficulties, which ultimately led to the founding of Arkham Creative.

HOW IT ALL STARTED “While trying to get the image printed last year, I realized that I just could get the right sharpness in the colours. I checked with numerous printing companies across the Kingdom and found that while the images looked great on screen, they just could not be duplicated in print unless I was willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money,” explained Rick. Visiting a stationary early last year, Rick found several sheets of coloured paper and had the idea of cutting away at it to create the images he wanted. ‘It took me a few tries but after playing with several blades, making a mess with paper, layering them with a strong enough glue and losing quite a bit of blood, I was able to create the images I wanted,” he said.

ARKHAM CREATIVE DEFINED Through Arkham Creative, Rick makes unique art using silhouettes of coloured paper, which are carefully layered with the lighter shades at the bottom. “Some people refer to my art as stencils, while others call it paper art. I however, refer to them as silhouettes. The thing that sets my posters apart, is that it is all created with paper and not a single brush of paint!” he explained. “I use very expensive and sharp blades, each with a specific use whether it’s cutting straight lines or working in tough corners,” he added. Since then, Rick has participated in the IGN convention in Bahrain and Dubai. “I got a great response in Bahrain and even had Troy Baker sign a copy of my Joker artwork at the Dubai convention. Next, I plan on participating in Comic Con, Dubai,” he said. “I also plan on displaying my art on social media and am hoping to have a gallery feature my work,” he added.

THE CHOSEN ONES Since then, Rick has managed to sell over sixty images including custom requests, some of them being shipped across the world. “I have done many portraits of famous icons, such as Marlon Brando, Bruce lee, Tupac, Marilyn Monroe and Heath Ledger. However, while I do custom requests, I draw the line at working on people’s pets,” he said. Explaining the name ‘Arkham Creative’, Rick said it has to do with his obsession with Batman. “I’ve always loved Batman comics growing up and Arkham Asylum was one of the locations in the comic book series. The way I see it, you need to be just a little bit mad to play with blades and get a kick out of it!” he said. Rick is a big fan of the Dark Knight and while growing up was a massive fan of Rajul al Hadidi. “It’s a Japanese television kids program, dubbed in Arabic, about giant dinosaurs fighting a superhero,” he explained.

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