COMICSANDS
percolately
georgetakei
secondnexus
george's picks
The internet is always ready to indulge in displays of wealth and opulence, and there are few places you can find such scenes as those promoted by Dubai. The capital of one of the emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, Dubai has taken to displays of wealth to generate tourism and attract investors, so it's no surprise when they show off something fancy.
The government-owned Emirates Airline posted a photo to Twitter showing a jewel-encrusted plane.
Presenting the Emirates ‘Bling’ 777. Image created by Sara Shakeel 💎💎💎 https://t.co/zDYnUZtIOS— Emirates Airline (@Emirates Airline)1543936504.0
Dubai is home to the tallest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Khalifa, so this seemed pretty natural. In fact, how did they not have a diamond plane already?
Seeing as this is the airline of Dubai, no one questioned it.
@emirates Emirates you truly represent Dubai in every perspective . Keep blinging ❤️ ✨ 💎 ✨— Janet Henderson (@Janet Henderson)1544089394.0
@emirates It’s bloody gorgeous ❤️🙌🏽😱— Pranav G (@Pranav G)1544010370.0
@emirates How pimp to you have to be to have a badazzaled airplane 😶— TTV (@TTV)1544243275.0
@emirates Us right now. https://t.co/SLCE4ju4Tx— Dulles Airport (IAD) (@Dulles Airport (IAD))1543957860.0
@emirates Lil Wayne swearing at himself for not copyrighting the word bling...— King Langalibalele I (@King Langalibalele I)1544197075.0
@pranavgzn @emirates It is. Girl plane!!!!💖💖💖👍— Denise A (@Denise A)1544148357.0
@emirates Shine like like a diamond 💎— Siddhant Mishra (@Siddhant Mishra)1544122746.0
But all is not as it seems. As the tweet says, this is actually the work of award winning artist Sara Shakeel.
Shakeel is known for her surreal style, turning normal photos into blinged-out masterpieces. This often includes a bedazzled look, replacing clothing with a diamond texture or just adding rainbows.
Sometimes, all three at once!
Though it wasn't meant to trick anyone, the bedazzled plane was quickly revealed to be a fake.
@jamieayling37 @emirates @therealsamcauhe Itll be fine— Phil Braun (@Phil Braun)1544122407.0
@emirates It’s not even good photoshop it’s just a clipping mask— Nevada🍣 (@Nevada🍣)1544123417.0
@BladeThundrbolt @emirates im guilty of that LOL! for a second it did seem like a decal of gems in 3D efect applied… https://t.co/y1TLrwDNbI— sohail (@sohail)1544872950.0
@emirates Lol. First clue showing coverage of the engines... Would be bad for any stones to get sucked into there engine I would suspect— Prof Warren Roberts (@Prof Warren Roberts)1544112347.0
@bunmola2010 @emirates Why are you like this?!!!— Wunmithomas (@Wunmithomas)1544184936.0
@emirates With the price of flight tickets being so high, I might as well be flying on diamonds— Dec 4❄ (@Dec 4❄)1544249628.0
It's hard to blame those who thought the plane was real. Dubai has had stories of sports cars for their police force and creating their own islands to draw in tourists, so a bedazzled plane seemed like a natural extension.