Hassan Hajjaj (Moroccan, b. 1961)

Using portraiture (photography and video), installation, sculpture, and performance, Hajjaj aims to seduce the viewer while confronting culture-specific beliefs and values. His multi-layered works fuse traditional and contemporary North African culture, with familiar Western imagery and iconography through appropriation and adaption. His artworks reflect his neo-nomadic lifestyle and the relationships he has formed with a variety of characters along the way, from musicians to artists and athletes to street performers. Hajjaj is perhaps best known for his colourful portraits including the Kesh’s Angels series, which blend the glossy aesthetics of fashion shoots with Moroccan tradition and street culture. Such witty and poignant images by Hajjaj, although outwardly light-hearted, challenge Western perceptions.