The art work of Clare Napper, artist and graphic designer of the vintage poster series “Highlife Dubai”, relate to all the expats living in Dubai, as it tells a story of the life of the people of Dubai; the things they relate to, the sentiments that they express, and the common humour of everyday life.
These posters are rich in character, portraying the icons of the city life and of the cultural identity of a city that we can all call our home. From the hidden gems of the city such as Ravi restaurant, to the significant landmarks such as the Downtown Dubai and the Emirates Airlines, these posters leave us feeling nostalgic and inspired. Here is an interview with Clare Napper.
The “Highlife-Dubai” poster series have been a huge success, both
nationally and internationally. Where do you find the inspiration from
when you make a poster on highlife in Dubai?
Honestly, the ideas and themes have just presented themselves. It is my own (and many of my friends) lived experience of these ‘Dubaisms’ that inspires me to capture them in art form.
From the start I was keen to create posters that worked as souvenirs for expat life in the Emirates. I brainstormed the first 18 posters one afternoon while lying by the Royal Meridian pool in the Marina – I remember it well! I was particularly excited about bringing the idea of ‘Maids’ to life in a vintage style poster – this was the first one I designed to see if it could work.. Luckily I was pleased with the result so have since cracked on with the next 50!
These posters are wonderful and so eye-catching and relatable and
rich in character. Can you tell us more about vintage poster art?
Generally speaking we are talking about old advertising before photography came along – instead, graphic artists would draw, paint and print the advertisements using lithography – this was the old printing process that involved printing from stone or metal plates, used throughout the 19th century. From the 1840s and 1850s, the printing industry perfected colour lithography and made mass production possible – many of the vintage posters that are valued highly at auction today are from the 1890s – 1940s period.
Like today, vintage poster advertising can be found for anything that was going on during that era – all sorts of consumer products, concerts, nightclubs, circuses, caberets and of course for both world wars.
I am particularly interested in the travel posters from the 1900s – 1930s. These depict scenes of popular holiday destinations and came about with the start of commercial international travel – first to advertise ships and train destinations, then the new passenger airlines (for example Air France, Imperial Airways or Pan Am). Every week on my instagram (@highlifeposters) I showcase the works of one of my favourite travel vintage poster artists from that time – check it out!
As a Graphic Designer, what drew you towards this kind of art?
In 2009, I was working at Saatchi and Saatchi (advertising agency) and we were launching the Dubai Metro. I was looking at how other countries had launched their underground systems, and while researching London Underground posters, this is when I first fell in love with vintage travel posters. I love the honesty and simplicity of the posters combined with the colours that they could now achieve with the lithography process. The thing that makes them so amazing is that these were real artists at the time who started working commercially just to pay their bills – they looked on this more as a way to make a living, and perhaps a little bit a denigration of their artistic talent, but is now a form of art in its own right, respected within the art world.
What goes behind the scenes of making a poster?
My creative process works a bit like this: once I’ve decided on the concept behind the poster, I’ll sketch or make a rough composition in Photoshop. Then I’ll either go and photograph people and backdrops or find images online to get the exact scale and composition on the computer. Then is the long illustration part – tracing it all by hand using a digital tablet and pen or my iPad Pro (more and more on the ipad using Procreate which is a real game changer).
Lastly I scour old travel ads for art direction inspiration to help refine colours, layout and type which is by far my most enjoyable part. Lastly I add effects to give it that vintage look.
Do you have a favourite poster from your collection?
I prefer my posters that show more social commentary as these are truer to my own reflections of life here. Perhaps one of my all time favourites is “Ex-Pat Rage” – it was fun to design and I hope it highlights (some people’s) expat behaviours! On the other hand, I think the actual design is more pleasing in some of my more ‘pretty’ posters such as ‘Al Fahidi’ or ‘Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque’ – although it is easier to create beautiful posters of landscapes, as the focus is less on the human stories and more on the place and the architecture.
What has been the response to your work both nationally and
internationally?
I have had some international press but mainly this is a series of artworks for UAE expats only and this is the only audience I care about! So far I’ve had nothing but positive reactions – I’ve now sold over 15,000 prints since 2014 – it’s been such a fortunate journey and I still cannot quite believe business is still going strong. I guess because Dubai is a transient place, people will always be leaving and wanting souvenirs! My purpose here has definitely evolved to creating the best artworks I can to remind people of their time here.
After years of living in Dubai, what fascinates you the most about its
people, its culture and its lifestyle?
The thing I cherish most about living here (and will look back on fondly in the future) is actually the opportunity Dubai has given me to get to know people from other countries and cultures.
There are so many unique moments and experiences where cultures are shared, exposed, juxtapositioned – it’s this daily melting pot of different lives that I find very interesting.
What in your opinion, is the most exciting thing about making art
about life in Dubai?
I find the process quite exciting – deciding on an idea or theme and then dreaming of how it might be received. Then the actual research stage – if I go down to a particular spot in Dubai, it is thrilling to think that perhaps I could be the first person to make this into art! Because the UAE is still so young, there is so much scope for new creativity and it is amazing to live in a city like this.
Of course there is also much excitement when launching a new piece – you never know how it will be received – some have been popular but some not so much! I do take poster sales as validation of the connection that I have managed to achieve with people. If it doesn’t sell then I feel like I have failed! There are a few which are clear best sellers and some which don’t do nearly so well. The exciting bit is learning from each piece – I hope to bring these learnings into my future works.
I love the way these posters have an element of satire and a social
commentary on life in Dubai that is authentic and witty. How do you
manage to tell a story in your work of expat life and identity?
It’s all about finding the ‘thing’ that we can all relate to. Part of my job in advertising was to find these insights that can be used to sell products – whereas this is a clever ploy to help fire the wheel of consumerism, I am so glad that for all my time working in advertising, I can now put this methodology to good use. To give you an example, in ‘Salon Time’ – the ‘insight’ is that when you go to a salon (unlike, say in Europe) – you have technicians doing your hands and feet at the same time.
So I would take this idea and exaggerate it – drawing a technician working on every limb – this then humorously draws attention to the unique Salon experience here (NB The manager at NStyle Beauty Lounge where I took research photos wants everyone to know that they would never do this!)
What are your future plans and projects?
At the moment I am working on an exciting collaboration with the well known Italian beverage brand @TheItalianWayuae. Together we have created the ‘Vita Con Stile’ collection of postcards as part of a four month campaign, inspired by the rich Italian brand heritage and paying homage to the UAE. Like the rest of my posters, they are modelled on travel and tourism ads from the early 20th century while also featuring iconic UAE landmarks. Style should be about playing with your own identity and having fun, and I think this message is clear throughout the collection – I’m thrilled to have been able to celebrate this for one of my all-time favourite brands.
Aside from that, when I can find the time, I am working on my final Highlife posters: my first Sharjah scene, desert safari and camping in the desert, cycling in Al Qudra, Dubai Silicon Oasis and the Dubai World Cup – 2020 has turned out to have been a great year for my productivity – less distractions!
Future plans after that are to move on from Highlife and start to progress to making posters which are more about life in general – I am particularly interested in philosophy and gender politics so it is my dream to be able to channel more ideas through my art. I shall always keep Highlife ticking along in the background though!
Interview by Iman Tahir
