Anne-Laure Roy

I moved to Dubai in 2010 having never set foot in the Middle East before.

The contrast with Africa was, to say the least, drastic: I missed the vibrant colours and I missed the liveliness of the streets of Maputo.

Photograhing this new city was different as well, I felt unconfortable carrying around my huge camera and pointing it to people and places, so, I quickly switched to taking pictures with my i-phone.

 

Whereas in Africa, subjects had been the photographic starting point of my paintings, here in Dubai, I started building up a collection of unpopulated backgrounds.

Unbeknown to me, my work process had 'reversed' itself, and as a result, I now had to find subjects to inhabitate these backgrounds.

 

Far from the glitz of your average shots of the city, my photographs show a version of Dubai that only lets itself be discovered by the seasoned resident. To bring attention to them, I needed to inject some glamour, that is when the idea to use vintage pin up popped up in my mind.

 

However, the full realisation of this project only came to life, when, on an off chance I stumbled upon a box of vintage pin up prints in a thrift store in a small californian town.

 

From Dubai to California and back, The Pin Up Series were born.