Concept.

The ordinary, the daily life taken …out of Sahara.
On the burning sandy earth, between the low tents (“khaimas” in tuareg language) of the tribal people,a camel shadow often appears.
Here they stay, oblivious to the surrounding, chewing, staying quietly rooted. In the land of the "blue people", camels represent the ultimate living richness.
They are traditionaly emblems of the noble class, in the nomad society, a clear mark of wealth and importance.

In those (not so) far-away countries, many people are still using these animals, while some others, a few miles away ,are smoking the cigars of the oil buisness.
The peolpe living in the Middle East are constantly oscillating between their traditions and the golden dream of modernity.
It seems to be two different temporalities, which are still sharing the same space, co-existing in the same territories.

Camel dung is used also for its qualities of shape and color, while gold.. gold... gold is the referential measurement on which the whole world economy is founded.
It remains a major symbol for jewellery, almost everywhere around the world.

inspiration.

I travelled in the Sahara with Touareg poeple, in 2006. I also worked with a Touareg jeweller/blacksmith, in a small village, for several weeks.
living with the nomads, I was far away from the oil society but could feel the importance of it,seeing sometimes a 4x4 air conditionned cars crossing the dunes heading to newly discoverd oil.In the villages they passed the peolpe were suffering hunger.
two different worlds temporarily crossing. And yet not meeting.

"enfoncés jusqu'au cou dans un gateau dont ils n'auraient jamais que les miettes" ( G.Perec, "les choses", 1966)