Born in Khorfakkan, Abdullah Al Saadi is a conceptual artist whose works examine the ways in which individuals interact with their natural and social environments. A wanderer and traveller, Al Saadi utilises aspects of the UAE’s urban landscape and history as his raw material. Since 1992, he has repeatedly traversed the same landscapes—by donkey, by car and on foot—experiencing spaces through different modes of travel. Each journey has altered his perception, not only of the landscape, but also of the mood and time. Camar Cande’s Journey (2010–2011), including 151 watercolour paintings and a video, chronicles a trek the artist took through the northern region of the UAE and Oman. Accompanied by a donkey named Camar Cande and a dog, Al Saadi walked through mountainous terrain, documenting the landscape. The Arabic words camar cande [white sugar] in the title of the artwork are a play on the city name Samarkand, evoking literary tales of travel and adventure on the Silk Road.

^{*Currently exhibited at the Seoul Museum of Art}