The thing about dubai
Creative chilean fellow gonzalo palavecino captured his time spent living and working in the united arab emirates.
The first thing I noticed: First was that the weather was super-hot and humid – it actually kicks you in the face. I also remember seeing the signs in the airport with Arabic characters, which are beautiful. It stood out how luxurious the place is, too. Things like renting a yacht for the weekend are accessible to regular people, or spending time in a luxurious hotel. Unfortunately that means people sometimes act quite superficial or just care about material things.
The thing about the architecture: In Dubai’s Old Town, which I’ve mostly captured in these images, the architecture is totally different to what you might expect. The working class lives there, so it’s pretty inexpensive, and all the buildings are old with unique and lovely designs. You can really see the influence of people from India and Pakistan. It’s a totally different environment to the more modern Dubai, and looks like South America in a way, because it’s messy, noisy and chaotic.
The thing about the colours: I just love the colour palette in Old Dubai. It’s like living in a Wes Anderson movie, with lots of blues and pinks. The intense sun gives every colour a pastel treatment – it loses its saturation. My pictures don’t have any alterations; it’s just like what you see.
The thing about the local customs: The first thing you learn when living in Dubai is about respecting their religion and culture. For example, I had a female friend visit who wasn’t allowed to show her knees or shoulders, and sometimes her hair. During Ramadan, you can’t eat or drink in front of someone who is fasting, and locals need to pray five times a day. Ultimately, you are in a different country with different rules, and if you want to be there you need to research, learn and be respectful of their local customs.
The thing about the landscape: Dubai is built on top of a desert, so there really is sand everywhere. It reminded me of Las Vegas a little bit. In some places out of the main city centre sandstorms have taken over buildings, filling them with piles of sand and giving the feel of a ghost town.
The thing about the food: The food in Dubai was amazing. As a cosmopolitan city, there are really great restaurants – probably some of the best. The offering is massive, from Peruvian to Italian to Vietnamese. I didn’t come across too many Arabic restaurants with traditional Middle Eastern food, though, since they are an international hub.
The thing I most wanted to capture: I wanted to capture a feeling of loneliness in my photos. I made an entire photobook where there is no one around. That was probably my way of showing how lonely I felt at that time – I really wanted to be with my family and friends, and tried to use photographs as a tool to showcase that.
The thing that surprised me: What really surprised me about Dubai was how safe it is. For example, if you forget your wallet at a bar, no one will steal it and it will be saved for you. Walking the streets at night, there really isn’t any crime happening. The biggest misconception is people thinking the whole Middle East is dangerous. Dubai is different since it’s such a touristy city – they make it feel safe.
The thing I learnt: I learnt a lot, but probably the most important thing was to be open-minded and tolerant. Since Dubai is a multicultural city, you spend time with people from all over the world, from different backgrounds and with different cultures and religions, and it encourages you to be accepting and broadminded.