Famed fashion Photographer Gilles Bensimon Releases A Dream of AlUla – A Visual Exploration of Fabled Landscapes and Historical Gems

On the occasion of the publication of A Dream of AlUla, the Librairie Galignani (Paris, France) will welcome, on Tuesday April 12th, the artist Gilles Bensimon for an exclusive signing of his book.

Acclaimed photographer Gilles Bensimon publishes A Dream of AlUla and celebrates the rich culture of AlUla, a land of exceptional heritage, located in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. Filled with 215 pages of original photography, this book, published by Cassi Edition and Rizzoli New York, offers the unique experience of travelling to a mythical land and a preserved paradise still unknown.

In A Dream of AlUla, the photographer reveals the poetic aspects and magnificence of age-old desert landscapes and highlights the lives that they are home to. From lush green oases to barren expanses; from drifting sand to basalt uplands; from geomorphological wonders to millennia-old inscriptions; from elaborate pre-Islamic tombs to Bedouins going about their daily lives and camels racing alongside cars — these are just some of the unforgettable scenes of AlUla.

The French photographer and former International Creative Director of Elle magazine, Gilles Bensimon has collaborated with some of the most prestigious magazines in the world, working with models and celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Yasmin Le Bon, Madonna and Elle Macpherson. He describes his creative process as follows: “A Dream of AlUla is a compilation of moments captured in the warmth of life, where the enthusiasm of the photographer and the wonder of the little boy who discovers the experience of beauty can be read. AlUla is a mirage, a sleeping beauty. She is a waking dream. I once had this dream. The Dream of AlUla.”

Gérard Mestrallet, Executive Chairman of the French Agency for AlUla development (AFALULA):

The inspiring power of AlUla is infinite. The book that is published today is a right example. Gilles Bensimon offers, with his sensibility, a fresh look at this millennial treasure. Through his experienced eye, we rediscover the landscapes, the relief, the shades, the light and, at the heart of this journey, the people of AlUla. A Dream of AlUla is a doorway to the magic of AlUla.

 

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