Dubai · Downtown Dubai
Wings of Mexico (Alas de México), Dubai
Jorge Marín's monumental bronze angel wings — stand between them and the Burj Khalifa frames the shot.
Wings of Mexico (Alas de México) is a monumental bronze sculpture by Mexican artist Jorge Marín, installed in 2018 on Burj Plaza, directly across the lake from the Burj Khalifa. It's a single pair of outspread angel wings, mounted deliberately at human height on a stepped platform: the design turns every visitor into part of the work — you climb the steps, stand between the wings, and read as "winged" yourself, with the world's tallest building rising behind you. Up close, the piece rewards a second look for the fine detailing of the individual feathers in the cast bronze, the craftsmanship that lifts it above a simple photo prop.
The wings aren't unique to Dubai. They belong to Marín's Wings of the City project, launched in 2010, in which he places identical human-scale bronze wings as permanent gifts in public squares around the world — the first went to the Tel Aviv Port in 2012, followed by a permanent donation to Mexico City in 2014, and others in Berlin, Los Angeles, Québec and Singapore. The idea is a network of shared symbols connecting cities through one gesture. Across Marín's wider body of work, the wing is a signature motif — a stand-in for the human dream of flight and the wish to move beyond physical limits.
Exhibo editorial
There's almost always a queue, so come early morning or late at night and bring some patience — regulars reckon on arriving around 45 minutes before sunset if that's the light you want. The classic frame is head-on, standing between the wings with the Burj Khalifa centred behind you. But don't stop there: take a few steps toward the tower and shoot from the side, and the composition changes completely — wings to one edge, the Burj filling the sky. Sunrise gives the softest light and the shortest wait; after dark, the tower lights up behind the bronze and the whole thing reads differently again. It's free and open around the clock, and it sits within a few minutes' walk of the Dubai Fountain, Burj Park and Dubai Opera if you're building an evening around it.
How to find it
In Burj Plaza on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, on the pedestrian promenade between Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa. From Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro it's a 10–15 minute covered walk. The sculpture sits on a low stepped platform; line up, climb the steps, and shoot from the front with the tower centred behind the wings. Dubai Fountain, Burj Park and Dubai Opera are all a few minutes away.