Lifeguard station 24 with villas and a single construction crane behind, Kite Beach, Dubai
Father and boy at the waterline while a veiled woman photographs them
Striped umbrella, beach trolley and a sunbather lying flat on the sand
Abandoned children's toys, a tea set and an inflatable ring on the sand
The lifeguard watchtower seen through the rope boundary of the family beach
An Emirati couple walk past red no-swim flags, minaret and skyline in the haze
Gulls, a jogger and staked saplings in fresh pavement beside the beach
Lifeguard station 24 again, the Burj Al Arab and a half-built hotel behind it

One beach, seven years. The same lifeguard station in every chapter — and a city that keeps arriving behind it. Still being made; shown as it stands.