Gallery: Star Wars Ships, Droids Look Right at Home in Dubai
01the-falcons-hiding-place
In Cedric Delsaux's otherworldly photos, the United Arab Emirates serve as a surreal stand-in for *Star Wars*' extraterrestrial geography, with droids and spaceships tucked into desert vistas and building sites. [Delsaux](http://www.cedricdelsaux.com/)'s new show, *The Dark Lens: Dubai Invasion*, serves up striking images of the desert city's building boom that — with a little bit of photographic trickery — conjure stark alien vistas. The photographer traveled to Dubai in February 2009 and spent 10 days shooting. "It is quite impossible for me to pinpoint the exact spots where my pictures were taken," he told Wired.com in an e-mail interview. "Most of the locations I chose are anonymous and discovered by simply wandering around with my camera." When Delsaux returned to Paris, he "rummaged around for figurines, toys and models," shooting the *Star Wars* gear in his studio before adding the spaceships and robots to the Dubai scenes he'd already captured. Check out this gallery for a closer look at the photographer's down-to-earth reimaginings of the *Star Wars* landscape. __Above:__ The Falcon's Hiding Place ------------------------- This landscape will be included in *The Dark Lens: Dubai Invasion*, on display at [The Empty Quarter](http://www.theemptyquarter.com) gallery in Paris from Nov. 18 to Nov. 21, as part of the annual [Paris Photo](http://www.parisphoto.fr) extravaganza.
02the-night-droid-patrol
The Night Droid Patrol ---------------------- Trained in journalism, cinematography, book-selling and advertising, photog Cedric Delsaux has visited the *Star Wars* universe before. His *Star Wars on Earth* photo series won the 2005 Kodak prize for landscapes and architecture. "Though I haven't watched the *Star Wars* movies 347 times like so many real fans, the saga has had a real impact on my life," he says.
03speeder-bikes
Speederbikes Wash ----------------- "*Star Wars* is a gateway to another world," says French photographer Cedric Delsaux. "It's not just a distant elsewhere, not a simple vessel or even an unspecified planet exploited over and over again in other sci-fi movies. *Star Wars* is a billion galaxies, a complete cosmogony, a space and time in its own right. This unbounded universe has an exhilarating effect on me. It's a visual dopamine!"
04burj
Stop at the Burj Dubai ---------------------- Delsaux included this shot of Burj Khalifa (formerly known as Burj Dubai), the highest tower in the world, in his *The Dark Lens: Dubai Invasion* exhibit. The photographer also found inspiration, he says, in "a burnt-down Indian cinema, the center of power where the sheik has his residence, crossing zones, construction sites ... all of which come together to build an allegory of the modern city."
05sw-dubai-boba-fett-ship-30x35
Star Wars Dubai Boba Fett Ship ------------------------------ In an e-mail interview, photographer Cedric Delsaux remained cryptic about most of the specific locations featured in his *Dark Lens* show, which injects *Star Wars* into Dubai desert scenes. "To elucidate the mystery of the locations wouldn't amplify this feeling, but on the contrary could weaken it by encouraging a more touristic and anecdotal approach to the city."
06sw-dubai-crash-30x35
Star Wars Dubai Crash --------------------- "Dubai is a singular city born out of a dream, a will of grandeur, a reflection of power," says photographer Cedric Delsaux. It's the city of superlatives — tallest, biggest, most expensive, maddest. When you walk through Dubai, everything is there, precise and detailed, but it just doesn't seem quite attached to reality. This distortion is the basis of my whole body of work, *Dark Lens* included. It's my photographic obsession."
07the-falcons-route
The Falcon's Route ------------------ During his visit to Dubai, Cedric Delsaux "tried to photograph the entire city: What can be considered simultaneously beautiful and ugly, modern and old or run-down."
08buick
The Buick --------- To produce this image, Cedric Delsaux recruited CGI artist Pierrick Gueneugue to add *Star Wars*–inspired characters.
09under-fog
Under Fog --------- "Dubai verified my hypothesis: Reality goes through the filter of our brain, distorted, kneaded by our sensitivity, culture, etc.," photographer Cedric Delsaux says. "Once I digested that point of view, it seemed natural to integrate *Star Wars* characters into this setting."
