On National Day, Indian coin collector and 3D artist Rohith Jagadisha created a movie showcasing the UAE’s landscapes and landmarks as seen on its currency.
The first sequence of the video features several wide shots showing several designs of the Dh1 coin alongside legendary landscapes. Gazelles repose next to a gazelle coin, the Gate Tower is commemorated on a coin that towers over DIFC, and an abra jet flies through a pair of coins that feature Creekside landmarks as an oryx and gazelles go past them.
Before the film immerses viewers in the nation’s most famous bank notes, the UAE flag appears halfway through the clip, draped in a complete set of commemorative coins.
The Deira Clock Tower, Fujairah Fort, Umm Al Quwain from above, the Ruler’s Palace in Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah City, Khorfakkan Amphitheatre, Al Jahili Fort, and other landmarks are just a few of the stylized 3D scenes that Jagadisha uses to bring these places to life.
Jagadisha says the project draws on a life spent collecting currency. “During my childhood, my father used to get a lot of mail, and I used to collect stamps. Inspired by that, I got into art because there’s a lot of art involved in the stamps. And in those days, we didn’t have the internet, so that was the only way I could find references for art.”
“Then I moved into coins and banknotes and saw how much art was involved in that too. After moving to Dubai, I started collecting coins.” He was struck by how many versions of the Dh1 coin there were.
“Every time I went to the grocery and got changed, I would check what image was on the reverse. Whenever I got something different, I’d keep it aside. My daughter started asking, ‘Why are you always looking at coins?’, so I want to pass on this hobby to her.”
To make the hobby and the history of the UAE more engaging for kids around the neighborhood, including his 8-year-old daughter Vipanchi, Jagadisha created the National Day video. This is his third film for Vipanchi after previously reimagining the Dubai skyline as being engulfed in huge origami figures and then refrigerator magnets.
Jagadisha says he wanted to bring the banknotes to life. “I want children to become curious about this hobby, I want them to see these landmarks and think ‘I want to visit, I want to learn about its history.”
