From its interior to its exterior, from its function to its form, Louvre Abu Dhabi is awesome. I use that word in its most traditional sense: the museum inspires the emotion of awe, an intoxicating blend of wonder and amazement with a strong base note of reverence. I have known Louvre Abu Dhabi since it was an embryonic architect's model on display at Emirates Palace hotel. It was magical and medicinal to finally wander its labyrinthine halls, imbibing the hallowed heritage of humanity.
My only gripe – I feel it necessary to have at least one – was the incessant click of smartphones, snap, snap snapping away, greedily gobbling up everything on display. A picture might paint a thousand words, but the mindless mechanics of much smartphone photography robs the end product of any poetry. With so much beauty, fame and wonder on display the cameras were in paparazzi mode.
The growth in photography has risen exponentially in the past few years, in line with smartphone ownership. It is estimated that since 2010 the number of photos taken each year has tripled, and it is expected to reach the 1.3 trillion mark in 2017. Because of the way we now share our pictures on social media, it has become possible to quantify, with a fair degree of accuracy, which are the most photographed attractions in the world.
In 2016, based on data from a Google-powered photo-sharing app, the number one spot went to the Guggenheim museum in New York, followed by Trinita Dei Monti, a Renaissance-era church in Rome, while number three was Parc Guell in Barcelona. Judging by the snap-fest taking place at the iconic Louvre Abu Dhabi, it won't be long before it or one of its exhibits makes the most photographed list too.
Our obsession with photography and sharing our photos is not without consequence. The selfie, for example, is beginning to be discussed in psychiatric circles. For instance, psychiatrists at Thailand’s department of mental health issued a warning that those not getting enough positive feedback for their selfies often feel compelled to take and post more images, perhaps even increasingly risqué or shocking images. This cycle of seeking self-esteem boosts by posting selfies is ultimately viewed as having negative consequences for mental health, primarily when the expected level of positive feedback is not achieved.
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It is also worth considering that the selfie is not always a decontextualised headshot. Very often it is an attempt to capture a special moment and generate evidence of one's involvement – "this is me in front of Salvator Mundi at Louvre Abu Dhabi". Ironically, however, there is emerging evidence that this snap-happy attitude may be degrading our memories of magic moments.
"Photo-taking impairment effect" is a condition described by Dr Linda Henkel, a cognitive psychologist at Fairfield University, Connecticut. In an article published in the journal Psychological Science, Dr Henkel describes an experiment where one group of students were asked to photograph exhibits at the Bellarmine Museum of Art, while another group browsed the displays, eyes-only. When tested the following day, the eyes-only students were far better at recognising items from the museum's exhibit. Dr Henkel suggests that when we photograph objects it is often a somewhat mindless activity, and consequently the memory doesn't hold.
In our attempts to capture magic moments, we may be losing them. But who needs memory, when you can just review the images? Of the estimated 1.3 trillion pictures taken this year, how many of them will ever be seriously looked at again? Furthermore, the poor organisation and sheer volume of the digital images some of us amass makes reviewing them a daunting task, especially when we are preoccupied capturing new images.
Would it be too much of a progressive or radical step to ban selfies and photography in certain public spaces? I don't think so.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Honeymoonish
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
THE SPECS – Honda CR-V Touring AWD
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Power: 184hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 244Nm at 3,900rpm
Transmission: Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
0-100kmh in 9.4 seconds
Top speed: 202kmh
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
Price: From Dh122,900
