“To protect himself from the Sirens Ulysses stopped his ears with wax and had himself bound to the mast of his ship. Naturally any and every traveller before him could have done the same, except those whom the Sirens allured even from a great distance; but it was known to all the world that such things were of no help whatever. The song of the Sirens could pierce through everything, and the longing of those they seduced would have broken far stronger bonds than chains and masts. But Ulysses did not think of that, although he had probably heard of it. He trusted absolutely to his handful of wax and his fathom of chain, and in innocent elation over his little stratagem sailed out to meet the Sirens.

Now the Sirens have a still more fatal weapon than their song, namely their silence. And though admittedly such a thing has never happened, still it is conceivable that someone might possibly have escaped from their singing; but from their silence certainly never. Against the feeling of having triumphed over them by one’s own strength, and the consequent exaltation that bears down everything before it, no earthly powers could have remained intact.”

Franz Kafka, The Silence of the Sirens

Part II of the Femme Fatale series.

Director: Yumna Al-Arashi
Editor: Justin Hogan
Model: Danielle Redman with Ford Models
Music: Erykah Badu – Incense

Like what you see? Leave a tip here!

(click to see Part I)

Earlier this year, I shot AND styled an editorial in Dubai for Khaleejesque Magazine’s Fashion Issue. My fantastic team worked all day in the heat and managed to pull off an incredible set of images. I’m super glad with the way it turned out, and also really proud to have my first cover!

Photography and Styling – Yumna Al-Arashi
Hair – Fadi with Sisters Beauty Lounge
Makeup- Enrica Bhatia
Nails – Sisters Beauty Lounge

Special thanks to S*auce, Symphony, and Boutique 1 for the fantastic pieces used in images.

The buildup of excitement leading to an evening strategically organized by the clever ladies behind The Dinner Club 57 is beyond. After months of seeing and hearing stories of these secret evenings, you can only pray that you’ll be next to get the exclusive invite. Founded by Buthaina Al Mazrui and Alamira Noor Bani Hashim, The Dinner Club 57 has become the golden ticket to the best of the best in UAE.
I received my invite a few weeks before the actual event and that’s when the curiosity rooted itself. Who would be joining me at the dinner table? Where will it be located? What will be served? And, most importantly, what will I wear?! I contacted the lovely people at Symphony Dubai and they were generous enough to let me wear a stunning red Vivienne Westwood dress (they used it for their latest campaign-which you absolutely MUST see) for my special evening.
A few days before the dinner, I got an unexpected knock on my front door from my mailman. A plain envelope with only my name on it. I opened it to find a map of the secret location. I can’t stress how incredible it is to have beautifully printed matter mailed to you. Seriously, take note: attention to detail is what truly makes the magic. There were simple directions, the last of which said “If you see something unusual, you are at the right place.”
The night had finally arrived. I opened a traditional Emirati fort gate to a trail of candles guiding me along the ocean and to the spectacular dinner table. This place was like nothing I’d ever seen in Abu Dhabi before. It was a traditional setting, an old abandoned hookah bar waiting for a new development to bury it into the ground. It’s one of the last remnants of the old city, with the buzz of the new circling around you. We dined in the wind-tower, and with summer here, what a perfect location to have one of the last outdoor dinners of the season.
The food was beyond delicious, served personally by our hosts. The smart design and music eased conversation amongst some of the most influential women in this country. Fendi sponsored the night and gave each one of us a completely handmade leather clutch and a copy of their fantastic book, Baguette. I felt so lucky to be sitting amongst such masterminds! What a better way to meet new people?!

The evening was truly unforgettable. I can’t hand it to Buthaina and Noor enough. These young women are changing the way Abu Dhabi eats, thinks and interacts one meal at a time. Bravo!

I take printing my photographs very seriously. Whether it’s for clients, collectors or just friends, there are always two problems I encounter: needing fast, affordable, no hassle service, and finding a printer that actually cares about creating great work. I usually have to sacrifice one for the other and end up spending more time and money just doing it myself. Now that I’m traveling and working nonstop, DIY is no longer an option.
While looking for a fun way to easily print and sell some Instagram photos of mine, I found a wonderful company based out of Berkeley called Social Print Studio. They run Printstagram, where you can print your Instagram shots in various shapes and sizes. I was a bit wary of this seeing as Instagram quality might not have been great, but since they were so affordable (24 4×4 prints for $12, unheard of?!) I went for it. Turns out the quality was not only incredible, but they shipped worldwide in only one week!
After raving to their team about the wonderful service I received, they invited me to try out their new service, Printstud.io. Print Studio takes Printstagram to the next level. You can print ANY photograph of yours in four cool sizes. I chose to try the mini-prints (2.15 x 3.35 inches) and the mighty-prints (4×6 inches).
I was so excited when I got them in the mail a few days later. They’re perfect for creating little postcards to send to friends, use as personalized business cards, or as a last-minute gift. The quality is fantastic and their packaging shows just how much love and care goes into your set of prints. Please know that you do NOT have to be a professional photographer to make wonderful prints. A lot of these photographs came from my iPhone. Also, talk about affordable! 48 mighty-prints for only $25 bucks! Now, that’s what I call a company that truly loves printing.

Check out the site, upload your hi-res photos in a super easy interface, and you’ll get your lovely works of art in just a few days–wherever you are in the world!

Umm..Beirut. I know they say New York is the city that never sleeps but that’s a serious lie. People sleep a lot in New York. You walk around at 4am and it’s pretty quiet on the streets, and if people are still partying, it stays inside. Beirut, on the other hand. Beirut does not sleep. And I did not sleep in Beirut. The reason I’m writing this post so late is because I was busy catching up on the sleep that I lost in my 5 days there.
I feel like every city I fall madly in love with has some French history. Like New Orleans. And same with Beirut. Yes, colonization is a horrible thing and I should not embrace it. But, god damn, it made Beirut’s architecture so beautiful. Another horrible thing that I kind of love: the ruins of Lebanon’s civil war. Buildings and monuments previously bombed still stand tall amidst completely modern architecture, a reminder of the country’s bloody past. Also, the mixture of Christianity and Islam blending throughout the country. Walking into a cathedral and then entering a Mosque on the same block. Blew my mind.
Beirut is full of life and history, and Lebanon in general is a beautiful country. But, let me tell you, these people know how to party. Bar hopping until 6am, dancing to incredible music (except house, sorry, I hate house) and then hopping into a taxi that’s blasting incredible Arabic music on your way home for a quick nap before doing it all over again. AND THE FOOD. Oh my god, the food. Don’t even get me started because I’m about to cry now that I’m back in the Emirates.

Beirut, you are now on my top 3 list of incredible cities. Thank you!

Love always, a voiceless and sleepy Yumna.

The lovely ladies of Sisters Beauty Lounge invited me to their Abu Dhabi location to enjoy a full day of their speciality treatments. Let’s just say: it was a day of indulgence.

Between sandstorms, temperatures in the high 90′s by April (!??!!), and the salty oceans, living here gets pretty tough on your skin. It’s no wonder hammams are such a huge tradition in this region, and Sister’s Abu Dhabi location has their very own Moroccan Style Hammam experience. I got scrubbed down in a steamy room and lounged with natural herbs and oils soaking into my fresh skin. I can’t believe I’d never experienced a hammam before! A body scrub and massage, that leaves you with the freshest skin? Totally going to be a regular part of my beauty regimen.

Next, I got an all-organic facial and a few 24k gold sheets placed on the parts of my face that have been damaged by the sun. The sun is seriously no joke here. I’ve never been sunburnt in my entire life until I moved here. My esthetician reminded me of the importance of including sun protection in your daily skin routines. And the gold is rumored to have been used every night by the beauty goddess, Cleopatra. After my gold treatment, she powdered my face with an all-natural mineral to protect my face from the sun by Eminence, which is also sold at the salon.

Due to the desalination chemicals in the waters here, our skin and hair is constantly prone to complete dryness. I got a repairing hair treatment and my stylist talked me through each Keratase product she used and what exactly it would do to benefit my hair. After, I was due for a blowout, manicure and pedicure which I have to admit, made me feel the most spoiled. Especially since all the procedures were done at once. I mean, really, how badass is this staff?! Sister’s signature manicures and pedicures use a completely new method I’ve never seen in any nail salon. It’s called the Brazilian Manicure/Pedicure, and it’s a water-less, cream-less treatment that uses specially lined gloves to moisturize your skin and strengthen your nails! It was super cool, super sanitary, and I’m typing this up while gleefully smirking at my pretty hands!

Thank you so much for the lovely day of indulgence, Sisters! I’ll be seeing you again very, very soon.

Last month I collaborated with National Geographic Abu Dhabi and Gulf Photo Plus to create a commercial promoting their latest photo competition, Photomentaries.

The commercial was directed by the super awesome Samer Arzouni, who helped me get through the nerve-racking process of talking on camera. Yes, in Arabic! And of course, mad props to lighting and cameraman, Nick Zajicek.

It was such an interesting experience, and totally took me out of my element. I think that’s really important, though. I love trying new things and opening myself up to different opportunities.

Anyway, if you catch the commercial-please try not to giggle too hard! It’ll be airing on National Geographic Abu Dhabi for the next month.

From Miami’s Art Basel, New York’s Armory Show, Scope, Frieze, and Art Dubai, my time at art fairs has been vast. I felt like I’d seen it all, until I found myself in Sharjah for the 11th Biennial.

What makes a great art fair? Is it the ability to sell art? Is it the exclusivity to attend the events? Is it the volume of art in one space? Is it the after parties? I could go on for ages describing the elements of what make the previous mentioned fairs so seemingly popular.

One of my favorites has been Art Basel. I’ve attended it numerous times (1,2,3), and, for the most part, enjoyed each visit. Art Basel is not just a pricey fair inside a convention center. Art Basel swallows Miami whole and dresses it up in art, tourism, fashion, street art, and, of course, amazing parties. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll end up realizing that the convention center is really the least bit of fun for the week. It’s places like Wynwood, with its vast street art and independent galleries. It’s Miami’s artists showing its guests some truly beautiful hospitality and it invites incredible talent from around the world to participate as well. That’s where the real fun of Art Basel comes in, and has successfully left me coming back for the past five years.

So, back to the Sharjah Biennial. If you’re unfamiliar with the UAE, Sharjah is one of the seven Emirates, only about half an hour away from Dubai. That being said, it is nothing like Dubai. No absurd high rises, no world’s largest-mostest-sparkliest, no fluffers, no bullshit. Its goal is to nurture culture, heritage, and art. And that it does.

This was my first time in Sharjah, and I was thoroughly impressed with the way the biennial seamlessly blended into the city life. Leaving blocks of old souks and shops between galleries, all attendees are forced to explore a part of the city. Most galleries and viewing rooms are built into traditional architectural structures of the Gulf, rooms cooled down by portable air conditioners and fans. A few modern buildings scattered in between, but camouflaged well. You come to the Sharjah Biennial, and you experience Sharjah. All access, all free.

When I go to an art fair, I go to experience something new, something I can’t find anywhere else. I want to see a well-curated selection of artists take on the city as I explore. For example, SUPERFLEX brought something new to the neighborhood this year. “While many of the banks situated in Bank Street in Sharjah are finding more lucrative locations, another non monetary banking model could be taking over the street. What if we were to regard the total sum of memories and stories of the people using Bank Street as the real capital of the street.” You can see the result in the second to last photograph in the set. It was major success. Thanks to SUPERFLEX’s contribution, the people of Sharjah came out and became part of my experience.

Bravo, Sharjah. I’ll be seeing you again soon.

The fair will continue until May 13th. More information here.

(Artist information is located in the captions, viewable upon hovering over the bottom portion of each photograph.)

Built a few kilometers outside of mainland Abu Dhabi, Masdar City’s goal is to rely entirely on solar and other renewable energy sources, with a zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology and will be a car-free city. Instead of cars, a Personal Rapid Transit station with its Podcars to take visitors and residents through the city. Its goal is to become “a model for sustainable urban development regionally and globally, seeking to be a commercially viable development that delivers the highest quality living and working environment with the lowest possible ecological footprint.”

Masdar City was established back in 2006, and its goal has hardly been met. With only the Masdar Institute, dormitories, and a few small businesses within up and running, its completion looks distant. Though still in its early phases of development, budget cuts have forced its progress to be pushed to a lower priority.

Nicolai Ouroussoff calls it the ultimate gated community, “the crystallization of another global phenomenon: the growing division of the world into refined, high-end enclaves and vast formless ghettos where issues like sustainability have little immediate relevance.”

By 2030, more than 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities, becoming the main source of global CO2 emissions. But, alongside most “clean” trends, Masdar City’s vision requires a population consisting of only those who can afford the lifestyle it caters to. The question arises: who, then, will Masdar become home to?

For now, it’s simply a mirage of a cleaner future. Its ability to transform new technologies into architectural beauty is impressive. But, rather than creating new elite communities, maybe the first step to a cleaner future is to mend the problems of our present state.