Sharjah24: Artists and creatives of every ilk are flocking to the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2023) this year. One of them is Manar Elraghy, a unique needle mangaka, one who applies her skillful thread work to create colourfully embroidered manga, anime and pop culture characters.
Displaying her creations of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow character from Pirates of the Caribbean and reimagined versions of Vincent van Gogh and his Starry Night paintings, Elraghy said: “I am a passionate animation enthusiast, with a particular interest in Japanese manga and thread manga work. I have been drawn to the art form since a young age, and have been honing my skills through self-study and practice. I use thread and needle but on a canvas instead of cloth, combining both painting and embroidery to create the artworks.”
The artist is particularly interested in the storytelling and visual style of Japanese manga and has been experimenting with different techniques to create dynamic and expressive illustrations for three years now, in what first started out as a hobby during the Covid-19 restrictions period in 2020.
Her other creations include Joker from Batman, Mushu the dragon from Mulan, the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland, Willie Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Edward Scissorhands. “The works take anything between a few hours and a week to create and involve a precarious process since threading on canvas can tear them easily - a single mistake means the work has to be restarted from scratch,” the Egyptian artist said.
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