Yiannis Roussakis / UAE Heritage

Past and present meet in the middle of the desert. It was the revival of the bedouin traditions, with more than 1500 camel owners and dozens of thousands of animals coming together for Al Dhafra Festival. Spontaneous celebrations always followed the camel beauty contests, parades erupting at the “Million Street”, the desert campsite area around the main event locations. The proud owners kept dancing in circles in the middle of the road, loud music and cheering everywhere, with the winning camels always at the centre of the stage, dressed in shiny fabrics and ornaments. Standing still in the middle of all this chaos, one realizes that these men celebrate the simple fact that they are here and now, alive on earth.

About the artist

Yiannis was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He studied theoretical physics and telecom engineering. For the past 12 years, he has been living and working around the world. He is currently based in Abu Dhabi. Through his work he attempts to explore the surreal nature of seemingly trivial objects, spaces and moments, reflecting the idea that our personal reality is a state of dreaming. He presented work in solo and collective shows in London, Athens, Budapest, Glasgow, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. His images can be found in private collections, hotels, government buildings and corporate organizations in UAE and worldwide.

=> More works and more information about Yiannis Roussakis