Clare Napper is a UAE-based graphic designer who recently brought us her 'Jardins Des UAE' poster series, providing an ecological tour of the expat experience and continuing her design journey in Dubai. Building upon her own experiences and observations, which she touched upon in her previous graphic poster series, we once again get to explore these creations from her perspective.
How has your creative process and artistic identity changed since you started your journey in Graphic Design?
I spent 15 years working as a graphic designer in branding and advertising and there are large parts of this former creative process that I have chosen to retain as I believe them to be instrumental to my work as an artist now. As a designer, you find solutions to briefs and that is how I still approach making art. I still define my brief, I still research the subject, I still find insights that connect with the viewer, I brainstorm, I moodboard - the only thing that has changed is the business objective which spurs commercial graphic design. Now my work is more about connecting with the viewer for the sake of collective understanding and social commentary. I guess that’s the only thing that has shifted about the essence of my work. I hope I can claim to have spun graphic design into art.
What was the inspiration behind your 'Jardins Des UAE' collection?
I live in Jumeirah 3, and if you’ve ever walked around the residential back streets of Jumeirah or Umm Suqeim, you will see an abundance of bougainvillea, frangipani, palms and succulents spilling out of gardens and bursting over walls.
The view from my studio window is a big pink bougainvillea bush. I cycle everywhere so after a while it all felt so idyllic and ridiculously beautifully tropical that I felt compelled to have a break from my normal posters and instead try and capture this floral joy in print.
How would you describe your experience working at Expo 2020?
Working with EXPO2020 was a dream job - amazing team, smooth process, much creative freedom and interesting to research historical Expo posters. Was a real honour to see the roll out in the stores and people walking around with my designs on them.
What other artists and influences have contributed to your current art style?
My vintage poster style is very much inspired by the European travel ads of the 1920’s and 30’s. Some of my favourite illustrators from that era include Roger Broders and Julien Lacaze from France and Otto Ernst from Switzerland. These guys were famous for depicting colourful panoramic tourist spots along the French coast and in the Alps – I hope you can see some of their vibrancy in my work!
What trends have you noticed within the Art Scene of Dubai?
Not sure if either of these trends deserve to be part of Dubai’s art scene but I have noticed a big increase in high street (mall) galleries selling expensive designer label based pop art which of course would always be a hit with Dubai’s more flashy residents. Similarly there is a trend for overpriced NFT art here, of varying qualities. Specifically NFT ‘Collectables’ which are usually small digital characters you can purchase - every day I am getting spammed about the newest white label drops for some new samey samey collection - I hope the bubble bursts soon! As for the rest of the art scene, I believe that real art does not buck to trends.
Anything exciting in the works?
I am currently working on Sharjah, Um al Quwain and Abu Dhabi posters for launch
in a few weeks. I’m also designing my new Christmas range including 2023 calendars, Sandy Charades 2023 edition, box of Jardine des UAE postcards and more gift items! (Will be on sale at Spinneys and Waitrose stores from November onwards). In my spare time I’m working on my next poster project on the theme of ‘Big Tech and Society’. There is a lot to explore here and I feel passionately about the subject matter so this is undoubtedly my next major move after Highlife. Aside from that I am also launching a new monthly event for artists and creatives this winter season. Stay tuned!
To explore more of Clare Nappers work, visit highlife-dubai.com & @highlifeposters on Instagram!
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