Bas Princen

Bas Princen (Dutch, b. 1975)

Desert edge (resort), Dubai

2009

Chromogenic development print

 10 1/16 x 12 5/8 inch image on 12 1/2 x 15 inch paper

Signed edition

Bas Princen explores the blurred line between utopian construction and architectural ruin. In Desert Edge (Resort), Dubai, from his ongoing series Utopian Debris, he photographs sites on the peripheries of urban expansion—locations that feel oddly timeless and dislocated. Trained as an architect and urban planner, Princen uses photography to construct rather than document space, creating subtle disorientations through framing, light, and omission. His work evokes a sense of mythical unease, questioning how we shape the built environment. Princen lives in Rotterdam and has exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Architecture Biennale.