George Dian Balan (Romanian, b. 1981) Arabian Onyx, 2025 Oversize digital pigment print 40 x 60 inches (101.6 x 152.4 cm) (image) 42 x 62 inches (sheet) Signed in ink, titled, and editioned 1/5 on accompanying label This lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. A desert icon. Shining like a pearl to the man of the sea. In an unforgiving environment, it is the symbol of life. The Arabian oryx once disappeared from their natural range and their re-introduction gives hope for a better future. Rub-al' Khali, the Empty Quarter, is the largest sand desert in the world, the size of France. In this vast expanse of deafening silence, the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve is a wildlife oasis. From sandfish and jerboas to gazelles and sand cats, there is a whole specially adapted wildlife community out there. In this image, a mother Arabian oryx looks back to the young calf following her over the dunes (the calf is visible in a consecutive image). The moment she turned her head I was offered the pose I was looking for, accentuating her impressive horns. The Arabian oryx's mythical representations go beyond its depiction on currency and airline logos. In the mirage of deep thirst, blistering heat and blinding sandstorms, no wonder that the Arabian oryx has transmogrified into the Unicorn. George Dian Balan is a multi-award-winning fine art photographer, scientist, author, inspirational speaker and world records discoverer, specialised in world record and world class individuals in iconic megafauna species. By using an immersive, cinematic approach, he creates timeless images, portraying as never seen before giants that have captured our imagination. The resulting frames are of the kind that one expects from a Jurassic Park opening scene. He pays much attention not only to the subject selection, perspective and composition, but also to body postures. The artistic question he asked himself is: "if a Statue, a Monument were to be raised to a species, what would that look like?" Have you ever seen an elephant with tusks so long they kissed the ground? Over the years Dian has become one of the most awarded megafauna photographers in the world, with about 40 images distinguished (most often multiple times) in prestigious photography competitions, including as Winner, Photographer of the Year: Wildlife (Re-Focus Awards, New York, 2024), second prize, MontPhoto (Spain, 2024), Highly Honoured, Nature's Best (Washington DC, 2024), Highly Commended, GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year (Germany, 2024), Honourable Mention, MonoVisions Awards (London, 2024), Finalist, Monochromatic Awards (Barcelona, 2024), Finalist, HIPA Diversity (Dubai, 2023), Silver Medal, Px3 Paris (2023), Grand Prize Winner (Untamed Romania, 2018), Finalist, Fine Art Photography Awards (2018, 2017) and weekly finalist, Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year (2018, 2016). Dian was a member of the jury of the Golden Turtle Photography Awards (2023) and the Jackson Wild Film Festival (2022) and the curator of the exhibition Europe's Wild Heart (Brussels, 2019). His pictures were published by National Geographic, BBC Earth, Forbes, GEO, Asian Geographic, Africa Geographic, Wild Planet Photo Magazine, Cranium, Ancient Origins, Nat'Images and Pachyderm, including several times as covers. Because he is so passionate about his work, Dian has become the world leading expert in big-tusked elephants, and the most awarded photographer on this topic. He is the author of the award-winning book The World As It Once Was and of several scientific studies and articles about megafauna and big-tusked elephants in particular. He supports local conservation projects in Africa with proceedings from the book and from fine art prints. Moreover, Dian is collaborating with Colossal Biosciences for the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth. Sometimes results exceeded his wildest expectations: he discovered for the first time in more than 100 years two new World Records- the longest Asian elephant tusk, at almost 11 feet and the thickest Asian elephant tusk, at almost 23 inches (both from India). HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice