A tribute to UAE's strides towards modernity

Dubai is a contrasting combination of the glamorous world of luxury and the harsh realities of the life of migrant workers.

And a collection of images taken by French photographer Philippe Chancel documents this uncomfortable diversity in a volume of 54 colour photos, named Desert Spirit.

The shots in the collection were selected from more than 3,000 Chancel has shot so far in his 20 years as a professional photographer. Chancel said he worked to question reality through his photographs — and encourage viewers to do so as they interpreted his work.

The images have a sophistication about them. The subjects range from one extreme to the other. There are artificially constructed Shangri-Las, skyscrapers that can never be gargantuan enough, or offered the opportunity to snow ski in the desert. On the other hand, images show the workers and migrants from modern industrial societies who came to earn a living.

Chancel's visual language is somewhere between art, documentary and journalism. He said he zeroed in on Dubai as the subject of his latest project because "this cosmopolitan emirate has a lot to offer in terms of architecture and diverse cultures".

Asked how he came upon the idea to publish a book about the emirate's accomplishments he said: "The project started as a photo essay. But it soon became evident that the subject merits a book. I then decided to focus on the UAE, Dubai in particular, because of the city's photogenic features. I wanted to artistically depict how a dream had become a reality and also ensure that the desert spirit came across [in the images]."

So how long did it take to finish the photo book? "I made several trips to Dubai between 2007 and 2010," the photographer said. "The images show the progress made by the UAE and the changes in the emirate over this period of time."

The photographs are a measure of how Chancel has been drawn to expressing his imagination through the lens. Asked about his sources of inspiration, he said: "The world of images has always fascinated me and as a documentary photographer with more than 20 years in the field, shifting between art, documentary and journalism, I am always thinking about the world.

"Dubai is a good spot to portray the future [of the world]," Chancel said.

The photographer said he liked to depict reality as a kind of fiction in an aesthetic way. "I believe this approach is obvious in my work," he said. "My photographs are not subversive. On the contrary, they go deep into what is fascinating about various societies to help us understand why they repel and attract us [at the same time]. The perspective of my photography is distanced so that it pushes the viewer to ask the questions about what is real, without being judgmental or emotional. The aesthete looks towards questioning both appearances and illusions."

Asked about the message he would like to convey through his images, Chancel said: "I keep my distance from my images.

"This is not just to encourage viewers to be involved with the photography and allow them to interpret questions about reality," he said. "It goes beyond that. It is aimed at providing the viewers with the maximum opportunity to consciously touch the spirit of the photo, explore its purpose, question what they are seeing and try to come up with a meaningful analysis that can build a link of communication."

Chancel said he was always looking ahead to his next photo. "I hope this feeling never ends, so I can continue working in photography."

Explaining his artistic perspective, he said: "I let the photos speak on my behalf because through them the viewer will be able to tell what category of photographers I belong to. According to the language of photography, I will say that an image says more than 10,000 words, not just 1,000," Chancel said.

Chancel described himself as an autodidact. "I have taught myself everything that I know," he said. "I strongly believe that you learn by practising. And that's what I have always done and will continue to do."

Among the stalwarts in the field, Chancel said he appreciated Walker Evans, the American photographer known for the images he captured during the Great Depression while working for the Farm Security Administration.

"Evans used a large-format 8x10-inch camera for much of his work from that period," Chancel said. "He once said his goal as a photographer was to make pictures that are ‘literate, authoritative and transcendent'.

"Many of his works are in permanent collections in museums and have been the subject of retrospectives at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and George Eastman House."

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is exhibiting Chancel's work on the UAE in the Dreamlands exhibition. He is also to be a guest artist at the Abu Dhabi pavilion during next year's Venice Biennale of Arts.

Chancel said the photography scene in the UAE was "fantastic, by all means". "I have seen the work of Mohammad Kazem, Sami Al Turki and Reem Al Gaith, who have struck a balance between a global outlook and a local vision," he said.

What would he advise those who wanted to upgrade their skills in photography? Should they enrol in courses or read about the new tools of photography?

"I like to keep myself up to date about the latest tools in photography and keep track of what is on in the market," he said. "When it comes to my work, I find I am more traditional. I never retouch my images, which means they always correspond to the truth." Also, don't miss photo opportunities, he added.

- Desert Spirit by Philippe Chancel is available at The Empty Quarter Fine Art Photography gallery at DIFC, Dubai.