a british artist living in dubai has created a collection of tongue in cheek posters, depicting life as an ex pat in the united arab emirates clare napper, 36,used her artistic skills to gently poke fun at everything from ubiquitous holiday snaps in front of the burj al arab building to the childcare and home help habits of foreigners living in dubai the former saatchi & saatchi graphic designer said the poster collection is a celebration of one of the world's most dynamic and cosmopolitan cities scroll down for video  making dubai holiday snaps since 1999: graphic artist clare napper's take on the obligatory burj al arab holiday photo  'thank goodness for nanny': many ex pats lead a priveledged life in dubai, employing domestic help, which is the subject of this poster  napper, from london, juxtaposed the striking modernity of the uae with a vintage style, similar to the popular travel and tourism adverts that materialised in the 1930s and 1940s when commercial airlines were really taking off, typified by french artist roger broders inspired by the good life led by ex pats in dubai, napper first got the idea when working on a campaign for the dubai metro at saatchi & saatchi 'dubai is a new city and there are none of these old commercial printed ads, so i thought it could be a nice new art space to explore here,' she tells mailonline travel dubai is known for its many high end shops, which napper addresses in this 'poverty sucks' poster of ex pat surrounded by purchases  one of the themes in napper's illustrations is to poke good natured fun at the frequency with which ex pats employ hired help, such as maids  with temperatures of up to 40c in summer, activities such as playing golf are far from recommended in the united arab emirates  but is living in dubai really as glamorous as these posters make it out to be? 'it depends on where you're from and what your socioeconomic background is like,' napper says 'for people like myself, an average middle class ex pat from the uk, day to day life in dubai is generally like living in any cosmopolitan city in the world 'people go to work, they take the kids to school, they get coffee, go to the supermarket, you name it, we do it here 'the differences   aside from living in sunshine all year round, which improves everyone's mood massively   are that earnings are tax free, we have a huge selection of great beaches and you can get anything delivered to your doorstep 'i would also say that dubai is one of the safest places in the world   every apartment building has a pool, gym and 24/7 security' jbr, or jumeirah beach residence, is a 17 km waterfront area, frequented by ex pats looking to soak up the sun  despite the joking tone of her travel posters, napper insists that most middle class ex pats live a relatively normal day to day existence  'real food at ravis': in dubai, this cheap pakistani eatery is known as a great place to get a quick and unpretentious bite  taxis are readily available and inexpensive, due to the prices of petrol in the region, but it still may take awhile to get to your destination  despite such a reality, napper recognises that it's not uncommon for britons to have many misconceptions about dubai 'yes, the united arab emirates is a muslim country, so there are certain laws and rules that might take a bit of getting used to, but the uae is extremely tolerant,' she explains 'after all, there are about eight million expats living here from all over the world 'many friends ask about the nightlife here and while we do let our hair down here, it all happens within the confines of licensed bars and clubs, or at home 'you don't walk down the street being openly intoxicated we all respect the culture' napper admits that one of the best things about living in dubai is seeing the city develop   both in its infrastructure and also artistically  from excursions to ras al khaimah and fujairah to having to renewing a visa: day tripping possibilities are endless in dubai  in a gentle mockery of ex pat living, this image depicts a scruffy   and presumably lazy   young woman takes delivery of a chocolate bar  as for napper, who has been in dubai for eight years after intending to stay for just 12 months, she can't imagine living anywhere else 'the best part is seeing how the place is developing,' she adds 'both in terms of infrastructure but also artistically 'as more people arrive, you get more diversity 'there are so many talented people doing amazing things here and you get the feeling that there's something exciting happening all the time 'people say that dubai has no history or soul, but i disagree how much history or soul did london or paris have when they were only 40 years old?'
london clare napper dubai british uae french roger broders
london born clare napper, 36, is a graphic designer who moved to dubai eight years ago to pursue her career . her striking posters illustrate the life of a british ex pat, gently poking fun at the lifestyle of foreigners in the uae . the vintage style is akin to the 30s and 40s travel and tourism adverts typified by french artist roger broders 