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Tariq Sharif has been a massive fan of Batman comics since childhood and Arkham Asylum being one of the locations in the comic book series, he decided to dedicate his mad cutting scheme into a fully-fledged business named after it.
In March last year, Arkham Creative was born featuring more than 60 pieces of some of his favourite cult symbols of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars characters and rapper Tupac.
He said: “I have also made images of famous movie icons such as Marlon Brando, Bruce Lee and Heath Ledger … but I draw the line when it comes to peoples’ pets.
“The smallest piece I ever made was an A4 size of Magic Johnson’s jersey which was a gift to a friend and the largest were of Iron Man and the Joker – both were made in A2 sizes.”
The British-Bahraini funny-man believes he owes his new-found talent to his grandmother who gave him a meat cleaver at the age of three. After that, he never looked back!
Tariq said: “My grandmother, God rest her soul, technically started all this, but seriously, I would like to mention that I did learn a lot from one of the great Bahraini artists, Khalid Al Muharraqi.
“I used to work for him back in 2000 and he helped me discover my creative side as he comes from an amazing artistic lineage. I am also really blessed to have my family, my fiancé Sharne Visser and my best friend Muneer Al Busaidi, pictured right, who always are at the core of my inspiration.”
His latest creation is an image of His Majesty King Hamad and it is currently being auctioned off and Tariq will be exhibiting a new collection of work at the upcoming IGN Dubai in April.
For fans who can’t wait, his pieces, priced from BD10 to BD400, can be snapped up from his site www.arkhamcreative.com and on instagram @arkhamcreative or @ricksharif
For further details email arkhamcreative@gmail.com
