Title: Camel caravan in Salt Desert
Size: 70x50 cm
Technique: oil on linen canvas

The painting is part of a series called ETHIOPIA which is inspired by a trip I made to Ethiopia during the Coptic Christmas. The painting I am presenting is titled "Camel caravan in Salt Desert". It is inspired by the Danakil salt desert in northern Ethiopia where camel caravans face long journeys on paths traced over the centuries to bring salt tablets to African markets. It is one of the hottest places on the planet and is over 100m below sea level. Also called the Afar Triangle from the name of the population that alone manages to inhabit such an inhospitable place, it is a vast saline and desert land surrounded by partially still active volcanoes. The painting represents the magical vision of the camel caravan marching towards mysterious places of the boundless desert, illuminated by the light of the setting sun. It is not easy to recreate that surreal atmosphere on the canvas, it almost seems like a mirage. In the scorching heat of the desert, the blinding light is reflected in the salt and creates incredible transparencies, and it almost seems to merge with the horizon, creating translucent and unreal atmospheres. It almost seems that the desert is transformed into a shimmering and fiery sea