Antonie Robertson, who is a staff photographer with us at The National, recently had a wonderful exhibition of photography at Gulf Photo Plus, a gallery in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue.
It is the result of an ongoing project called The Emirates Tin Type Project where he uses an old photography technique called tintype.
The tintype process is the photographic creation of a positive image on a metal plate. Black anodised aluminum is coated with collodion; it is then sensitised in a bath of silver before being exposed in camera. The metal plate is then immediately hand processed to create the final image.
We really love the project, so we caught up with him for a Q&A session about his project.
Q: Why did you start The Emirates Tin Type Project?
A: My mother was a librarian so we always grew up with books; the Encyclopaedia Britannica was really well thumbed in our house. We always took the most interesting books from the library and we got exposed to a lot of world knowledge. I knew about this process for a long time and was interested in the process of the camera.
Q: What gave you the final push to start the project?
A: It wasn’t until I studied commercial photography that I got to know more about this process specifically but I never thought it was practical thing to do. Then I discovered a documentary about a photographer called Sally Mann and that was the first time I realised you can create a body of work like this over an extended amount of time, over years.
Q: How long have you been working on it?
A: I started collecting about four years ago and I’ve been shooting it for about two years. But I will keep shooting this on an ongoing basis.
Q: Are you inspired by the community here in the UAE?
A: I meet a lot of people though photography for the newspaper but I always have a feeling I never get the chance to actually take a picture of these people. This project forces me to slow down and do that. It is a more of a spiritual process, where I can connect with people and create portraits of them. I make a lot of time for it; it is an endeavour of love.
Q: How does the process work?
A: I take an aluminium plate that is painted with black enamel on one side. Then in the dark room, I take collodion and other chemicals and pour it on top of the plate to create an emulsion and then put it in a sensitising tank to make it sensitive to light. Then it is ready to take the photograph, which I develop immediately afterwards.
Q: Is it the same as the original technique?
A: Within every possible realm it is classical as it can be. I take a modern production studio camera, which is different in terms of physically what it is made of, but it is not different in the way it is made or works.
Q: How did you feel about the show and what plans do you have for the future of this project?
A: I was really happy to finally have my own show because it was a very personal journey for me, coming into something that I have always visualised. I think the future will be shooting in a larger format and using bigger plates.
* For more information about Antonie and his work visit his website antonierobertson.com
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
