Valentin Valette is a Franco-Algerian visual artist, photographer, and researcher in visual anthropology. Blending artistic creation with research in the humanities and social sciences, he explores environmental changes and the social, political, and economic dynamics that shape the practices and experiences of local communities. His work also examines processes of displacement—whether voluntary or forced—and their repercussions on community ties, individual and collective memories, and the construction of territories.
With *Ashes of the Arabian’s Pearl*, he focuses on the Sultanate of Oman during a period of profound transition. From 2020 to 2023, between the death of Sultan Qābūs, ending fifty years of reign, and the accession to power of his cousin and designated successor, Haitham Bin Tarik, the Ashes of the Arabian’s Pearl project takes shape. During this transitional period, Valentin Valette closely observes the dynamics of economic development and territorial planning in the Sultanate of Oman, paying particular attention to the key players at the heart of this regional phenomenon.
By presenting both employers and employees, Ashes of the Arabian’s pearl seeks to illustrate the lifestyles of thousands of men—the country’s workforce, hailing mainly from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—and, in contrast, those of Omani entrepreneurs and their families. The photographs reveal the hierarchies embodied in this phenomenon of globalized labor migration.
By referencing the link between space—that of territorial planning—and time—that of Qābūs’s reign—in processes of memory, Ashes of the Arabian’s Pearl questions the future of this Gulf monarchy. Like the Sultanate of Oman, this project thus sits at the intersection of a dual temporality, serving as a bridge between past and present.
Born in 1994 in Pau, Valentin Valette holds a Master’s degree in Research and International Relations—North Africa and the Mediterranean (CIFE), and a Master’s degree in Political Science, Political Dynamics, and Social Change (Sciences Po). He lives and works between the Gulf, the Maghreb, Paris, and the Pyrenees. He has exhibited at the Rencontres Photographiques de Bamako (2024), the Circulations festival (2025), and the Les Photaumnales festival (2025).
