LIWA

2012 – present

PRESENTATION

The Liwa desert is part of the Rub al Khali desert, south of Abu Dhabi in the UAE. Also called Empty Quarter it is an overwhelming succession of beautiful sand dunes. The size of the desert is about the size of France with a few oasis.

The geometric shapes, the steepness of some dunes and their sheer size is an endless monumental labyrinth. To work there, alone, for so many hours every day, is totally immersive and meditative.

CONCEPT

This project is an example of the extraordinary advances in resolution quality the medium format sensors have witnessed. I wanted to see the sand, to have a resolution so one could almost feel like touching the sand.
The Phase One sensor I use allows for this incredible feat.

The relation with the image is no longer just looking at a photograph as the capacity to produce large prints with such details leads to a physical relation with the image. A very different feeling.

FEELINGS AND EXPERIENCE

The desert is not something new for me. I did travel in various desert areas, although not with a real camera. There is this hotel in the middle of the desert within the UAE, located about three hour drive from Abu Dhabi and I thought it would be a good base to start. The rhythm is simple. Wake up at 6AM, gone by 6:30 for 30min drive to a spot where I will spend hours alone with three bottles of water. Then back for lunch and cleaning the equipment and gone again until the night would settle.

I decided to aim for shapes, curves, contrast, graphic rendering. I discovered how fast the light was moving, the need for anticipation. I learned through trials and errors how to plan a photo without exposing my tracks on the sand, how to visualize where to walk in order to avoid the costly mistake of having my footsteps on an image I would take an hour later while following the light… No sound but the wind, sometime freezing cold, endless climbs of big dunes further away.

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