#ShotbyAdams lands at JD Malat Gallery Downtown, reframing fame through colour and light.
The UAE’s cultural calendar is packed, but few shows blend music and photography with the star power of Bryan Adams. The global icon arrives in Dubai with his first Middle East exhibition, giving fans a rare chance to see how a rock legend views the world from behind the lens.
Running until 30 September 2025, #ShotbyAdams takes over JD Malat Gallery in Downtown Dubai. The showcase confirms that Adams is as assured with a camera as he is with a guitar, presenting portraits that play with perception, colour and celebrity. Inspired by the phrase “seeing things through rose-tinted glasses,” Adams places layered sheets of multi-coloured plexiglass between lens and subject. The effect is playful and thought-provoking, distorting outlines while sharpening ideas about identity and fame. Expect reimagined portraits of cultural icons, including Kate Moss and Mick Jagger, rendered in rich hues that shift with your viewpoint.
The exhibition builds on a photography career that has moved well beyond the tour bus. Adams has captured the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, with those portraits now part of the National Portrait Gallery collection in London. His sitters read like a roll call of modern culture, from Muhammad Ali and Hillary Clinton to Naomi Campbell and Jennifer Aniston. ShotbyAdams gathers that reach and reputation into a focused series that puts craft and concept in the foreground.
For the uninitiated, Bryan Adams rose from Canadian stages in the late 1970s to global charts in the 1980s with the album “Cuts Like A Knife” and the enduring anthem “Summer of ’69.” More than 100 million records sold, a Grammy, multiple Juno Awards, and a star on the Walk of Fame underline his impact. This show adds another dimension, revealing an artist who understands the power of an image and the responsibility of the person who makes it.
So if you’re an art lover or simply a fan of Bryan Adams, this is an exhibition you don’t want to miss. After all, it’s not every day you get to see a rock legend reframing the way we look at the world.
GO: Visit https://www.jdmalat.com for more information.