Today in his early 40s, Al-Sumaikh’s pencil colors question the reality of what we experience daily as he carves portraits of celebrities.
His interest in drawing and cartooning in particular was obvious since childhood.
He was born in Al-Moharraq City, northern Bahrain.
His father was a mathematics teacher and his family had nothing to do with art.
“A pencil in my hand, I liked to draw portraits of my family members on the wall behind my bed. It was to overcome the fear I felt as a child, alone at night in my bedroom,” Al-Sumaikh spoke about his childhood and youth to Al-Ahram Hebdo.
“My papers and coloured pencils were my best companions. They allowed me to overcome my isolation. In Bahrain, a country with a desert climate, hot and dry, I did not have the luxury of staying up late in popular cafes like in Egypt. The solitude and isolation always fuelled my imagination. I follow the people I meet in everyday life, but also known actors on the small or big screen," he continued.
Years later, as Al-Sumaikh began developing his style, his characters revealed exaggerated physical features, without falling into overinflated irony.
No one escaped his sharp eye and pencils, as he embarked on creating caricatures of people around him and celebrities he saw on television.
Soon he started to be referred to as the “djinn of caricature,” as he continued to draw cinema stars, singers, novelists, politicians, scientists, and sportsmen, among others.
Connection to Egypt
His work took him to a few countries, and Egypt is no stranger to the Bahraini cartoonist.
In 2017, Al-Sumaikh participated in the International Cartoon Gathering (Cartoon Forum), an edition that featured Um Kalthoum, where the Star of the Orient earned him the forum's grand prize.
This year, he returned to participate in the 8th International Cartoon Gathering, which celebrated the late Egyptian legendary comedian Samir Ghanem (1937-2021).
“He was the Charlie Chaplin of Egypt,” Al-Sumaikh said.
“He made the whole world laugh although his life was full of significant dramas. It’s from these paradoxes, between the comic and the tragic, that the characteristics of my style are born,” he added.
The dynamism of the cartoon field in Egypt helped him gain better exposure in the region.
"During the Cartoon Forum, we get an opportunity to meet other artists from around the world. Egypt has always been a leader in the caricature world, with artists such as Salah Jahine and Armenian-Egyptian Alexander Saroukhan, considered the father of Egyptian caricature," Al-Sumaikh revealed.
Furthermore, the Egyptian cartoonists featured in several magazines, including Sabah El-Kheir, were his main inspiration and pushed his creative passion forward.
"I always admired cartoonists such as Moustafa Hussein, Ahmed Toughan, Mohamed Effat, Abdel-Aziz Tag, Ahmed Hegazi, Hassan Hakem, Gomaa Farahat ... I also follow the younger generation and the comix artists such as Fawwaz, Hani Al-Masri, and Michel Maalouf,” the artist said.
Bahrain and the Arab world
Al-Sumaikh also recognized the talents of other Arab artists, including Ali Farzat (Syria), Mahmoud Kahil (Lebanon), Abdallah El-Mahraqy (Bahrain), and Naji El-Ali (Palestine).
"With his hands crossed behind his back, Handhala, the main character in Naji El-Ali's drawings, represents the bitter reality of the Arab world and the Palestinians suffering since 1948," Al-Sumaikh clarified.
Regarding the Bahraini cartoon scene, he said the country has “only editorial caricature, the one focusing on the public figures. We need additional media, spaces for expression, and support from the state.”
“Far from being a simple grotesque representation, caricature defies established conventions. For me, the expression and emotion of the person represented must go beyond pure exaggeration. I like to find a compromise between caricature and satire. If caricature uses art to make people laugh, by exaggerating flaws, satire uses humour to criticise, provoke intelligent reflection, and reveal hidden truths," Al-Sumaikh explained.
Career in cartooning
Al-Sumaikh was only 17 when he participated in a drawing competition on the environment and marine pollution.
Shortly after, while studying at the Faculty of Educational Arts at the University of Bahrain, his drawings began appearing on the covers of magazines and the brochures of major companies and high fashion houses, including Scarlett Entertainment, Microsoft, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Dior.
Then, he worked as a freelance illustrator in the Jordanian Press, notably Tomato Cartoon magazine and Bahrain’s Independent Magazine.
Al-Sumaikh also teaches caricature at Al-Sheikh Eissa bin Ali College, encouraging his students “to think outside the box,” as he puts it.
In addition, Al-Sumaikh hopes to establish a caricature museum in Bahrain, “just like the one Mohamad Abla has in the village of Tunis [Fayoum, Egypt]. Abla is the one who invited me to hold my first solo exhibition in Egypt, back in 2021.”
Countless inspirations
He listens to Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin; watches cartoons; and reads comic magazines, especially the American satirical magazine Mad, which publishes the drawings of his idol Mortimer Drucker.
“I like Drucker’s style which blends comics with a realistic photographic approach to represent American film and television stars. I am also influenced by Honoré Daumier, the famous French cartoonist of the 19th century; I love his black and white lithographs; he is very bold. I also appreciate the American cartoonist David Levine and Mohamed Al-Zawawi, the pioneer of Libyan caricature,” he noted.
The sharpness of Al-Sumaikh’s colours and the non-conformity of his portraits allow him to express whatever comes to mind.
Dozens of his works are posted on his social media accounts, especially Instagram where he uses ali_artist handle.
There we find Taha Hussein, Farid El-Attrash, Sabah, Bernard Shaw, Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero, Naguib El-Rihani, and Paulo Coelho. The list is long.
“I don’t draw to gain followers. I like to bring out the human side of people I draw, sometimes even the paradoxical one. Figures like Nawal El-Saadawi, Naguib Mahfouz, and Pope Francis have greatly impacted me," Al-Sumaikh continued.
"Al-Saadawi paid the price for her activism and tenacity to promote women’s rights. Pope Francis is making a lot of effort to reconcile the religious and the secular. As for Mahfouz, he could perfectly depict the manifestations of good and evil,” he concluded.
*This article was originally published in Al-Ahram Hebdo (French)
*Additional editing: Ahram Online
*Translation from French: Ati Metwaly
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