Situated in the Arabian Sea, 240 kilometers east of the horn of Africa, lays the island of Socotra, part of Yemen. A third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet, like the famous Dragon Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari). This umbrella shaped tree grows only on the Diksam Plateau in the middle of the island and could live up to 500 years. Intrigued by this characteristic tree, I decided to visit the island. With the help of Amira Al-Sharif, a war photographer from Sana’a, I was able to connect to a Socotra family of the Almahrah tribe and learn more about their traditional life near the sea.

Dragon’s Blood, 2014
A woman in a red dress, hanging from a branch of the endemic dragon blood tree. The tree produces red sap, which inspired the Romans to call the tree: the Dracaena cinnabari.

Desert Rose, 2014
A blossoming bottle tree between a naked woman’s legs. This endemic Desert Rose on Socotra Island flowers very shortly.

Burka Balloons, 2014
Local women of the Almahrah tribe dressed in black burkas holding white balloons on the southern shores of Socotra Island. In Yemen it is forbidden for women to show their bodies or their faces in public outdoors.

Iron House, 2014
A woman in yellow pantyhose lying on the roof of an iron shack. Due to the lack of wood on Socotra Island, bulldozed oil drums are used to build shacks for military storage.


Analogue C-print
120 x 150 cm (edition 6)
100 x 125 cm (edition 6)