It is truly a privilege for an artist to collaborate on a project that honours and celebrates the incredible journey of a nation which is changing the world. I had the immense pleasure of working on such a collaboration which extols the inspirational evolution of UAE. Titled “From Desert to Mars”, this project is the brainchild of UAE-NFT, an Emirati entrepreneur and NFT guru, who is widely recognized for his patronage to the emerging NFT community in the region and its development. The purpose of the project is to “celebrate the UAE’s journey and evolution by exploring the dawn of the nation with the discovery of oil, the real estate boom, and finally the space venture”. 

Showcasing the creations of seven internationally renowned NFT artists, From Desert to Mars is an NFT art collection which consists of 7 different NFTs that are absolutely free and with the collector just having to cover the gas fees. Why is it free, you may ask? Being the dedicated patron of NFTs, UAE-NFT wanted as many people as possible to have a little token of UAE’s history in the form of an NFT artwork that they can cherish and appreciate. Another amazing thing about this NFT collection is that each artwork has 1,971 editions that can be collected, and this specific number is an homage to the year 1971 when UAE was officially formed.  Besides myself, the collection features the artworks of the following incredible artists: 

• Jasim Al Bulushi 
• Kaiwan Shaban 
• Arefeh Norouzi 
• Thomas Dubois 
• Anantha Krishnan Nadamel 
• Mattar Bin Lahej 

When I was approached for this collaboration back in 2021, I was immediately intrigued by the scope and vision of what was being aimed to be achieved by the project and was excited to be onboard for this amazing creative opportunity. For my specific artwork, Wings of Glory, I wanted to create something that honoured and represented the roots and essence of UAE and its grand vision of the future. With this in mind, the artwork ended up featuring the majestic sandy dunes of UAE’s deserts and the bold, sprawling wings of the Falcon, a symbol of UAE’s pride and unity. Additionally, the artwork has a starry background that refers to the journey into space which UAE is about to embark on. With the dunes and space taking up most of the space in the artwork, I wanted to metaphorically represent “From Desert to Mars” and the immense course of history that UAE had undertaken which will now continue in the sky. 

Participating in this collection has been nothing short of an honour and I am incredibly glad that I was able to create something that will allow people to have a memento which represents the legacy of this great nation. To know more about this collection and to see the amazing NFT artworks of the other amazing artists, go to: https://uaenft.io/  

Shop my artwork collection here.

Check my digital artwork collection here.