Someone wouldn’t generally describe the UAE’s local neighborhoods as visually vibrant. Architectural styles repeat themselves as if they are dictated by social self-regulation, while the colour palette follows a predictable pattern. However, this visual uniformity is wonderfully broken by construction fences, which come in different colours and styles. It’s the state of being temporary that gives these fences the license to be whatever they want. To express freely. To be yellow or pink, or a bit of both. They teach us a lesson to be free. To be colourful. To venture upon life with a curious mind–to be permanently under construction.

These fences caught my attention after living abroad for eight years. Hoarding fences aren’t particularly special in most places around the world. Not even in Melbourne where I’ve thoroughly documented its vibrant urban identity. It’s an element unique to the Arabian Gulf states and possibly other nearby regions.