A visitor poses behind the artwork “Convergence” by artist Masarrat Fatima M Sulaimani and curated by Samar Kamel at the World Art Dubai fair at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 08 October 2020. Around 2,000 art pieces are displaying at the sixth edition of the World Art Dubai fair which is running from 08 to 10 October 2020. (Photo by Ali Haider/EPA/EFE)

Nigerians take a photo in their traditional clothes during Eid al-Fitr prayers in Lagos, Nigeria on May 2, 2022. Muslims gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers held in Nigeria, the country with the largest Muslim population in Africa. (Photo by Adeyinka Yusuf/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A Muslim worshipper belonging to the Mouride Brotherhood prays in the sea during the “prayer preformed at sea” ceremony in Dakar on September 21, 2023. Followers of the Muslim Mouride brotherhood in Senegal gather for a ceremony celebrating the prayer that the founder of the brotherhood, Cheikh Amadou Bamba preformed at sea when exiled to Gabon by the French. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

Young Muslim worshippers stand in the rain at the shrine of the 12th-century Sunni cleric Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (Gilani) in Baghdad as people gather to perform the prayers for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, as observed locally on March 31, 2025. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)

A Muslim man carries holy incensed smoke through a pedestrian subway in Mumbai, India, May 13, 2016. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Iraqi workers make traditional sweets, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Baghdad, June 13, 2016. (Photo by Khalid al Mousily/Reuters)

Justin Rowe creates these magical sculptures from hand cut books and found images with the help of just a touch of gum arabic and 24 carat gold or palladium leaf. Some are very much in the realms of fairy stories like the one above, but my favourites are the stories below where Justin’s skill brings the book’s own illustrations to life.

French artist Julien Breton aka Kaalam started calligraphy in 2001 by copying Arabic calligraphers. Self-taught, he began to incorporate long exposure photography to create incredible light paintings around the world. All of the images in this gallery were created in-camera, meaning there is no Photoshop trickery or post-production manipulation involved in creating these works of art.