Artist Clare Napper never expected her satirical ‘vintage’ Dubai tourism posters, which create a fake backstory for the emirate, to be quite so popular.
From ‘Burj Al Arab – making Dubai holiday snaps since 1999’ to ‘Salon time – for the lady who knows her worth’ and retro adverts for local favourites Ravi’s and Al Reef Lebanese Bakery, Clare is holding up a satirical mirror to the expat lifestyle and creating a fake backstory for Dubai.
I came up with the idea for Dubai Metro originally, when I was working at Saatchi & Saatchi as head of design. I presented the idea of vintage posters three years in a row, based on what London Underground was doing, advertising areas of Dubai as they advertise areas of London. I’m glad they said no!
When The Torch in Dubai Marina, where I live, caught fire and I came back from Street Nights to find everyone evacuated, I was distraught because my cat, Teddy, was still inside. I shouted, “My baby’s in there,” and the police surrounded me! Luckily the fire was stopped about seven floors from ours.I set up an Instagram account for Teddy the cat to see how it works. Kids love cats but they follow and then dump you. At one point he was getting 150 followers a day. It was a good experiment.
Flat-pack cat boxes for indoor, high-rise cats that never leave the home – that’s my next business idea. A set of boxes that fit together, for cats, is something in existence, but mine will be arty, humorous features for the home. It will have to be next year now, as I didn’t realise Highlife would be so popular.
I do like the high life myself – new bars, nice meals in DIFC – but I also like to put on trainers and jeans and go to the Jebel Ali club to play cards.Save