Etienne Malapert is a photographer born in 1991 in Paris. He obtained his baccalaureate in Applied Arts in 2010 and he did a one-year foundation course at the Ateliers de Sèvres in Paris. He obtained a Bachelor in Visual Communication, Photography, from the ECAL with honours and he received the sustainable development BG Prize (Bonnard Gardel) 2015.
The bond "technology – photography" is getting stronger and stronger, artists are translating into images the incessant technological development, using several kind of languages, from artistic and experimental approaches, to classical documentary ones. Etienne Malapert, in his "The City of Possibilities" presents the pioneering project of Masdar's green city in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2006, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) decided to undertake the kind of crazy project of building an entire city in the middle of the desert. Masdar City’s first aim is to reach 0% CO2 emissions and be recognized as a “Green Cityâ€. London architectural firm Foster Norman designed this huge project, at a time of growing environ-mental concerns, especially energy consumption and pollution. Despite holding a major share in global oil and gas production, the United Arab Emirates wish to change their image to showcase green technology and so-called clean energy.
Located 25 km south from Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is destined to be within the next 15 years the first self-ecological city in the world, with a population of 50 000 and a business hub of 1 500. Currently, only a few buildings have already emerged from the sand, including a scientific university, research laboratories and offices of major multinational corporations such as Siemens. The country launched the Masdar project as part of an economic policy shift called Economic Vision 2030, based on renewable energy and complex denser made research and developments.
Following this trend, the government, in collaboration with UAE Oil Company, one of the world most influential one, have invested nearly $20 billion in the project. The real purpose of this commercial association is to establish UAE as a pioneer in renewable energy sector to complement its current status of “major oil exporterâ€.
This 21th century beginning forces humankind into a mutation stage of its evolution. Despite the need to shift paradigms towards greener economies and energy transition, no one can ignore this contradiction in terms: the world’s flag ship for green urbanism is spirited forward by one of the world’s largest producer of “black goldâ€.
Exploring the technological development of the city, places and portraits of its citizens, Malapert gives back a vision of the near future, made by a romantic view that goes along with a futuristic approach.
In 2006, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) decided to undertake the kind of crazy project of building an entire city in the middle of the desert. Masdar City’s first aim is to reach 0% CO2 emissions and be recognized as a “Green Cityâ€. London architectural firm Foster Norman designed this huge project, at a time of growing environ-mental concerns, especially energy consumption and pollution. Despite holding a major share in global oil and gas production, the United Arab Emirates wish to change their image to showcase green technology and so-called clean energy.
Located 25 km south from Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is destined to be within the next 15 years the first self-ecological city in the world, with a population of 50 000 and a business hub of 1 500. Currently, only a few buildings have already emerged from the sand, including a scientific university, research laboratories and offices of major multinational corporations such as Siemens. The country launched the Masdar project as part of an economic policy shift called Economic Vision 2030, based on renewable energy and complex denser made research and developments.
Following this trend, the government, in collaboration with UAE Oil Company, one of the world most influential one, have invested nearly $20 billion in the project. The real purpose of this commercial association is to establish UAE as a pioneer in renewable energy sector to complement its current status of “major oil exporterâ€.
This 21th century beginning forces humankind into a mutation stage of its evolution. Despite the need to shift paradigms towards greener economies and energy transition, no one can ignore this contradiction in terms: the world’s flag ship for green urbanism is spirited forward by one of the world’s largest producer of “black goldâ€.
Exploring the technological development of the city, places and portraits of its citizens, Malapert gives back a vision of the near future, made by a romantic view that goes along with a futuristic approach.
The City of Possibilities will be on show at Les Journées photographiques de Bienne.