Hassan Hajjaj: Dakka Marrakesh

Hassan Hajjaj Dakka Marrakesh In his colourful and bold works, Hajjaj playfully questions stereotypes, using accessories by big-name fashion brands to subvert traditional Moroccan dress. Hajjaj poses friends, Gnawa musicians and local characters from Marrakesh in theatrical narratives that draw on his Moroccan childhood and later experience of the international fashion industry.

Drawing on street culture, music and fashion, the characters portrayed in Dakka Marrakesh take pleasure and pride in their culture, engaging the viewer in a politics of observation that questions and plays with the traditional Western outlook.

Ilham, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 94 x 129 cm, 2000

Š Hassan Hajjaj and Beyond Art Productions, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9559515-2-7 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission

Hassan Hajjaj Dakka Marrakesh

in writing from the Publisher.

edited by rose issa Editor & Curator Rose Issa Co-Curator Juliet Cestar Deputy Editor Francesca Ricci Design Normal Industries Copy Editor Katia Hadidian Printing Crossgate Press With special thanks to MOMO and SKETCH

Published by

Š Hassan Hajjaj and Beyond Art Productions, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9559515-2-7 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission

Hassan Hajjaj Dakka Marrakesh

in writing from the Publisher.

edited by rose issa Editor & Curator Rose Issa Co-Curator Juliet Cestar Deputy Editor Francesca Ricci Design Normal Industries Copy Editor Katia Hadidian Printing Crossgate Press With special thanks to MOMO and SKETCH

Published by

Tagia Boy in Blue, digital C-type print with hand painted background and tyre and wood frame, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

Beauty Revisited Two years ago, after knowing Hassan Hajjaj for more than 15 years, I received a mysterious phone call from him. He wanted to show me some of his photographs. I knew him as a fashion and furniture designer, DJ, musician, dancer, footballer and restaurateur. We also had quite a few friends in common, like Amina, the Tunisian singer and actress who played in Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky, based on a novel by Paul Bowles, who spent most of his life in Morocco.

Hajjaj came to see me with a suitcase full of contact sheets and prints that he had kept secret for years, till he was ready for this body of work to be shown to the public. I was astounded by the amount of work: no full-time artist or young photographer that I knew had gathered as many images. Dakka Marrakesh (‘Marrakesh Beat’) is the result of that meeting, and is the first solo photographic exhibition in the UK by this British-based Moroccan artist.

Hajjaj poses friends, Gnawa musicians and local characters from Marrakesh, where he has a home, in theatrical narratives that draw on his Moroccan childhood and later experience of the international fashion industry. Feeding off clichéd images, such as the veiled Muslim woman, at first glance Hajjaj seems to be creating Orientalist fantasies. Only on closer inspection do we see that that the veils and jelabbah worn by his subjects are covered in fashion logos, thus forcing the viewer to question the very nature of stereotyping.

In one image, Ilham (on the cover of this catalogue), a woman reclines on cushions in a room reminiscent of an Oriental harem. However, unlike the usually demure odalisques of art history, this one stares back at us, oozing with self-confidence. In Saeda, a pair of heavily made-up eyes gaze at the camera. The remainder of the head and face are hidden behind a ‘Louis Vuitton’ veil. Bejewelled hands painted with traditional henna cover Saeda’s ears. She is confident, relaxed – suspended somewhere between the traditional and modern, between

2

East and West.

3

Tagia Boy in Blue, digital C-type print with hand painted background and tyre and wood frame, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

Beauty Revisited Two years ago, after knowing Hassan Hajjaj for more than 15 years, I received a mysterious phone call from him. He wanted to show me some of his photographs. I knew him as a fashion and furniture designer, DJ, musician, dancer, footballer and restaurateur. We also had quite a few friends in common, like Amina, the Tunisian singer and actress who played in Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky, based on a novel by Paul Bowles, who spent most of his life in Morocco.

Hajjaj came to see me with a suitcase full of contact sheets and prints that he had kept secret for years, till he was ready for this body of work to be shown to the public. I was astounded by the amount of work: no full-time artist or young photographer that I knew had gathered as many images. Dakka Marrakesh (‘Marrakesh Beat’) is the result of that meeting, and is the first solo photographic exhibition in the UK by this British-based Moroccan artist.

Hajjaj poses friends, Gnawa musicians and local characters from Marrakesh, where he has a home, in theatrical narratives that draw on his Moroccan childhood and later experience of the international fashion industry. Feeding off clichéd images, such as the veiled Muslim woman, at first glance Hajjaj seems to be creating Orientalist fantasies. Only on closer inspection do we see that that the veils and jelabbah worn by his subjects are covered in fashion logos, thus forcing the viewer to question the very nature of stereotyping.

In one image, Ilham (on the cover of this catalogue), a woman reclines on cushions in a room reminiscent of an Oriental harem. However, unlike the usually demure odalisques of art history, this one stares back at us, oozing with self-confidence. In Saeda, a pair of heavily made-up eyes gaze at the camera. The remainder of the head and face are hidden behind a ‘Louis Vuitton’ veil. Bejewelled hands painted with traditional henna cover Saeda’s ears. She is confident, relaxed – suspended somewhere between the traditional and modern, between

2

East and West.

3

Hajjaj was born in 1961, five years after the independence of Morocco, during hard economic

Looking at Hassan Hajjaj’s work is like reading a funky version of Mohamed Choukri –

times when there was widespread unemployment. His father, like many of his generation, was

one presents the raw truth, the other creates a fake reality. Hajjaj’s kaleidoscopes of

forced to emigrate for economic reasons to the West, in his case to England, to secure a better

characters – vagabonds, shopkeepers, musicians and neighbours – reflect the hopes, fears

life and education for his family. Hajjaj’s hometown, the fishing port of Larache, is a sea resort

and idiosyncrasies of their generation. These young Moroccans sometimes look menacing,

in northern Morocco close to Tangiers and Tetouan, where the great French poet Jean Genet

but have a smile in their eyes. They are simply defending their world, their turf, their style,

asked to be buried. The area has always attracted well-known visitors, most famously the Beat

and their right to have problems and aspirations. Like the artist, they have guts and attitude,

Generation poets, Tennessee Williams, Jack Kerouac, and Paul Bowles, the American writer

express black power, Arab power, pride and joy in being streetwise.

and music ethnologist whose fascination for traditional Moroccan music is shared by Hajjaj. (In fact, many of the Gnawa musicians photographed by Hajjaj have since become famous.)

Hajjaj dresses them in his own designs, with polka dot, leopard skin and military fabrics that reflect the fashion world he knew so well. He even makes his own babouches from fake

There is a quality in Hassan Hajjaj’s approach that constantly reminds me of the novels by one of

Louis Vuitton leather as props for the photos, and covers traditional dress with logos from

the greatest contemporary Arab writers, Mohamed Choukri. Choukri’s childhood was spent in

international brands. By dressing his characters in these costumes, Hajjaj subverts the

abject poverty and he only learned how to read and write classical Arabic at the age of 20. His

traditional set of fashion values and aesthetics. Here, high fashion lightens the pain of poverty,

poignant autobiographical novels, For Bread Alone and Streetwise, span the 1960s and 1970s

becomes street chic with a wink at tradition.

and speak for an entire generation of North Africans. He describes his experiences with total honesty and lack of judgement. Despite the two generations in age between the two – ‘sweet

Hajjaj’s style has an engaging vitality, for in these colourful and bold works he playfully

distance’, to use Choukri’s phrase – and the fact that Hajjaj’s childhood was much happier and

questions stereotypes, celebrates the beauty in the ordinary, the underworld, the ignored,

far more carefree than Choukri’s, I see many similarities in their work.

and turns his street discoveries into icons. Drawing on street culture, music and fashion, the characters portrayed in Dakka Marrakesh take pleasure and pride in their culture and engage

Both Choukri and Hajjaj use art – literature in the case of Choukri, and design and photography

the viewer in a politics of observation that teases the traditional Western outlook.

for Hajjaj – to rise above the hand of fate. They share a love and compassion for the underprivileged and ordinary people; incorporate their first-hand experience of street-life into

4

their work and use a vernacular language and aesthetic. Their characters are young, free of

Rose Issa

tragedy, ideology and morality, and prone to ‘life in the times of mistakes’, as Choukri says.

Rose Issa is a curator specialising in the visual art and film of the Middle East and North Africa. www.roseissa.com

5

Hajjaj was born in 1961, five years after the independence of Morocco, during hard economic

Looking at Hassan Hajjaj’s work is like reading a funky version of Mohamed Choukri –

times when there was widespread unemployment. His father, like many of his generation, was

one presents the raw truth, the other creates a fake reality. Hajjaj’s kaleidoscopes of

forced to emigrate for economic reasons to the West, in his case to England, to secure a better

characters – vagabonds, shopkeepers, musicians and neighbours – reflect the hopes, fears

life and education for his family. Hajjaj’s hometown, the fishing port of Larache, is a sea resort

and idiosyncrasies of their generation. These young Moroccans sometimes look menacing,

in northern Morocco close to Tangiers and Tetouan, where the great French poet Jean Genet

but have a smile in their eyes. They are simply defending their world, their turf, their style,

asked to be buried. The area has always attracted well-known visitors, most famously the Beat

and their right to have problems and aspirations. Like the artist, they have guts and attitude,

Generation poets, Tennessee Williams, Jack Kerouac, and Paul Bowles, the American writer

express black power, Arab power, pride and joy in being streetwise.

and music ethnologist whose fascination for traditional Moroccan music is shared by Hajjaj. (In fact, many of the Gnawa musicians photographed by Hajjaj have since become famous.)

Hajjaj dresses them in his own designs, with polka dot, leopard skin and military fabrics that reflect the fashion world he knew so well. He even makes his own babouches from fake

There is a quality in Hassan Hajjaj’s approach that constantly reminds me of the novels by one of

Louis Vuitton leather as props for the photos, and covers traditional dress with logos from

the greatest contemporary Arab writers, Mohamed Choukri. Choukri’s childhood was spent in

international brands. By dressing his characters in these costumes, Hajjaj subverts the

abject poverty and he only learned how to read and write classical Arabic at the age of 20. His

traditional set of fashion values and aesthetics. Here, high fashion lightens the pain of poverty,

poignant autobiographical novels, For Bread Alone and Streetwise, span the 1960s and 1970s

becomes street chic with a wink at tradition.

and speak for an entire generation of North Africans. He describes his experiences with total honesty and lack of judgement. Despite the two generations in age between the two – ‘sweet

Hajjaj’s style has an engaging vitality, for in these colourful and bold works he playfully

distance’, to use Choukri’s phrase – and the fact that Hajjaj’s childhood was much happier and

questions stereotypes, celebrates the beauty in the ordinary, the underworld, the ignored,

far more carefree than Choukri’s, I see many similarities in their work.

and turns his street discoveries into icons. Drawing on street culture, music and fashion, the characters portrayed in Dakka Marrakesh take pleasure and pride in their culture and engage

Both Choukri and Hajjaj use art – literature in the case of Choukri, and design and photography

the viewer in a politics of observation that teases the traditional Western outlook.

for Hajjaj – to rise above the hand of fate. They share a love and compassion for the underprivileged and ordinary people; incorporate their first-hand experience of street-life into

4

their work and use a vernacular language and aesthetic. Their characters are young, free of

Rose Issa

tragedy, ideology and morality, and prone to ‘life in the times of mistakes’, as Choukri says.

Rose Issa is a curator specialising in the visual art and film of the Middle East and North Africa. www.roseissa.com

5

6

Hayat in Veil in Pink, Blue Camo Veil, Peace in Blue, Just do It in Blue, digital C-type prints with hand painted backgrounds and tyre and wood frames, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

Y Bandana Veil, Puma Blue Veil, Stars Veil in Blue, Saida in Green, digital C-type prints with hand painted backgrounds and tyre and wood frames, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

7

6

Hayat in Veil in Pink, Blue Camo Veil, Peace in Blue, Just do It in Blue, digital C-type prints with hand painted backgrounds and tyre and wood frames, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

Y Bandana Veil, Puma Blue Veil, Stars Veil in Blue, Saida in Green, digital C-type prints with hand painted backgrounds and tyre and wood frames, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

7

Interview with Hassan Hajjaj You were born in Morocco and came to London as a teenager in the 1970s. How did you find

During this time I also started promoting clubs and putting on bands. Soon afterwards, the

the move?

club culture came in and house music started to take off. I was in the middle of the scene.

I organised gigs and clubs in friends’ music venues and in improvised venues such as

I found London difficult, strange and sad. It was a really tough time. I just couldn’t understand

warehouses. I had HQ in Camden and Flynn’s near Bond Street, where all the trendy people

it at all. My family came from a small fishing town in Morocco called Larache and we couldn’t

went. The clubs gave me great freedom to produce special events that involved a production

read, write or speak English. We had such a sense of freedom growing up in Morocco, on the

not dissimilar to films. I had to learn to work with a team, and take responsibility.

beach, in a totally different culture. I am the oldest of five siblings and I’m the first one in my family who learned to read and write.

From about 1984 to about 1992 it was craziness – clubs, styling, video production, managing bands, fashion and music shops, travelling and positive vibes. At this point in my life I felt

Your artistic career has spanned many areas, including photography, painting and designing

my calling. Then in about 1992 the recession came. I lost the shop, and things changed. I

clothes and furniture. When did you realise that you wanted to follow a creative path in life,

experimented with some different business ventures that were less successful. Everything

and how did you go about it?

that happened was kind of a lesson, an experience.

I never really thought of myself as an artist. I spent some troublesome teenage years trying

Meanwhile photography became a hobby. I bought a camera from a friend who was a

to fit in and figure out what it meant to be a streetwise Moroccan in London. Then, in 1984,

professional photographer and taught myself. I had been shooting bits and pieces, mainly

because I had the courage and nothing to lose, I opened a fashion shop – RAP – in Neal Street

Polaroid portraits of friends in London from that era, but when I went back to Morocco, that

in Covent Garden.

was like a new journey for me, to check out where I came from and find my roots. Every trip I made opened up new horizons and experiences. Morocco is so rich in timeless visual material

RAP was the beginning of something new for me. Neal Street had a real buzz at that time. It

that you can take a picture today and it can look 200 years old. As I was taking pictures I was

was full of specialised shops selling music and fashion. RAP was a big scene. My friends liked

trying to capture images that were in my mind – like ‘hugging the place’.

to meet there and I met all kinds of people from all over the world. I started to design hats,

8

T-shirts and accessories for the shop. I’m not technically trained as a designer, so I would

Then a friend of mine, Steve, who has a riyad in Marrakech, asked me if I could help out with

sketch, find a fabric, and then find a manufacturer. At the same time I was also assisting a

a team of people who were in Marrakech shooting for Elle magazine. I just sat there (I was

stylist friend on catwalk shows and photo shoots.

kind of bored, actually) and I noticed that the models, photographer, clothing, producer and

9

Interview with Hassan Hajjaj You were born in Morocco and came to London as a teenager in the 1970s. How did you find

During this time I also started promoting clubs and putting on bands. Soon afterwards, the

the move?

club culture came in and house music started to take off. I was in the middle of the scene.

I organised gigs and clubs in friends’ music venues and in improvised venues such as

I found London difficult, strange and sad. It was a really tough time. I just couldn’t understand

warehouses. I had HQ in Camden and Flynn’s near Bond Street, where all the trendy people

it at all. My family came from a small fishing town in Morocco called Larache and we couldn’t

went. The clubs gave me great freedom to produce special events that involved a production

read, write or speak English. We had such a sense of freedom growing up in Morocco, on the

not dissimilar to films. I had to learn to work with a team, and take responsibility.

beach, in a totally different culture. I am the oldest of five siblings and I’m the first one in my family who learned to read and write.

From about 1984 to about 1992 it was craziness – clubs, styling, video production, managing bands, fashion and music shops, travelling and positive vibes. At this point in my life I felt

Your artistic career has spanned many areas, including photography, painting and designing

my calling. Then in about 1992 the recession came. I lost the shop, and things changed. I

clothes and furniture. When did you realise that you wanted to follow a creative path in life,

experimented with some different business ventures that were less successful. Everything

and how did you go about it?

that happened was kind of a lesson, an experience.

I never really thought of myself as an artist. I spent some troublesome teenage years trying

Meanwhile photography became a hobby. I bought a camera from a friend who was a

to fit in and figure out what it meant to be a streetwise Moroccan in London. Then, in 1984,

professional photographer and taught myself. I had been shooting bits and pieces, mainly

because I had the courage and nothing to lose, I opened a fashion shop – RAP – in Neal Street

Polaroid portraits of friends in London from that era, but when I went back to Morocco, that

in Covent Garden.

was like a new journey for me, to check out where I came from and find my roots. Every trip I made opened up new horizons and experiences. Morocco is so rich in timeless visual material

RAP was the beginning of something new for me. Neal Street had a real buzz at that time. It

that you can take a picture today and it can look 200 years old. As I was taking pictures I was

was full of specialised shops selling music and fashion. RAP was a big scene. My friends liked

trying to capture images that were in my mind – like ‘hugging the place’.

to meet there and I met all kinds of people from all over the world. I started to design hats,

8

T-shirts and accessories for the shop. I’m not technically trained as a designer, so I would

Then a friend of mine, Steve, who has a riyad in Marrakech, asked me if I could help out with

sketch, find a fabric, and then find a manufacturer. At the same time I was also assisting a

a team of people who were in Marrakech shooting for Elle magazine. I just sat there (I was

stylist friend on catwalk shows and photo shoots.

kind of bored, actually) and I noticed that the models, photographer, clothing, producer and

9

make-up artist were all European. Morocco was just the backdrop. I decided that I wanted

my frames and furniture designs, I wanted to express so-called ‘Arabic’ work in a cool way. I

to shoot ‘my people’ – the Moroccan experience plus I would try to add something a little bit

was playing around with products. Growing up in Morocco, recycling was something that came

passionate. A whole project and body of ideas came out of that experience.

naturally, for example turning a crate into a seat or a table. So one thing led to another and I was enjoying it. It made me happy to give business to the local people from whom I purchased

Did you, or do you still, have a particular source for your inspiration?

the products and it connected me strongly with my own culture.

I think the sources are everywhere. If you’d asked me seven years ago I couldn’t have given you

Fashion labels were big in London in the 1980s. In RAP we used to sell Vivienne Westwood,

the answer, but looking at the pictures now I can see the influences. I can see what I call the

John Galliano and some other big names, but I mixed these with, for example, T-shirts

‘urban influence’ in my use of counterfeit products. I knew if I had gone to Louis Vuitton and

designed by a Moroccan friend with counterfeit Gucci and Chanel logos on them. They were a

asked if I could take a picture of their products with a girl wearing a veil they would probably

brilliant success. We also used to stitch Louis Vuitton logos on the back of jackets. We were

have told me to f*** off. So I just took the initiative and went and created a body of work that

designing urban clothing by taking the big brand names and putting them on trainers and

plays with and questions labels, brands, street culture and ‘high and low culture’.

things because the big names didn’t design for urban street culture style in the 1980s.

When I was taking the photographs, I felt possessed. Photography was – and is – just one of

So I took that element and I played around with it in my photographs. You could read many

the ways that I can express myself. When I look at the work, it’s personal. I always try to do

things into it, but the reason I use the biggest brands is as a theatrical device to attract the

something that means something to me.

viewer to the real subject. It works because my pictures have recognised codes in the West.

Much of your work involves the use of branded items - brands local to Morocco, well-known

With the different prints, I am investigating the idea that the same clothing may be read

international brands, such as Louis Vuitton, and hybrid items that you design yourself, with

differently depending on ethnic background or sex. Leopardskin, camouflage and polka dots

patterns such as leopard-print, camouflage and polka dots. Is there a reason for this?

come in and out of fashion. Camouflage could mean either fashion or terrorism. Leopardskin could be a sexist cliché – an animal print on a woman riding a motorbike.

Brands play a large part in influencing my perception of the world. When I went back to

10

Morocco after an absence of several years, one of the first things I noticed was that the same

When I have an idea that I turn into a photograph, I hope that what I have in my head will come

products were still being sold in packaging that was designed in the 1950s and 1960s. With

across, but once it’s out there I feel naked because I’m exposing myself.

11

make-up artist were all European. Morocco was just the backdrop. I decided that I wanted

my frames and furniture designs, I wanted to express so-called ‘Arabic’ work in a cool way. I

to shoot ‘my people’ – the Moroccan experience plus I would try to add something a little bit

was playing around with products. Growing up in Morocco, recycling was something that came

passionate. A whole project and body of ideas came out of that experience.

naturally, for example turning a crate into a seat or a table. So one thing led to another and I was enjoying it. It made me happy to give business to the local people from whom I purchased

Did you, or do you still, have a particular source for your inspiration?

the products and it connected me strongly with my own culture.

I think the sources are everywhere. If you’d asked me seven years ago I couldn’t have given you

Fashion labels were big in London in the 1980s. In RAP we used to sell Vivienne Westwood,

the answer, but looking at the pictures now I can see the influences. I can see what I call the

John Galliano and some other big names, but I mixed these with, for example, T-shirts

‘urban influence’ in my use of counterfeit products. I knew if I had gone to Louis Vuitton and

designed by a Moroccan friend with counterfeit Gucci and Chanel logos on them. They were a

asked if I could take a picture of their products with a girl wearing a veil they would probably

brilliant success. We also used to stitch Louis Vuitton logos on the back of jackets. We were

have told me to f*** off. So I just took the initiative and went and created a body of work that

designing urban clothing by taking the big brand names and putting them on trainers and

plays with and questions labels, brands, street culture and ‘high and low culture’.

things because the big names didn’t design for urban street culture style in the 1980s.

When I was taking the photographs, I felt possessed. Photography was – and is – just one of

So I took that element and I played around with it in my photographs. You could read many

the ways that I can express myself. When I look at the work, it’s personal. I always try to do

things into it, but the reason I use the biggest brands is as a theatrical device to attract the

something that means something to me.

viewer to the real subject. It works because my pictures have recognised codes in the West.

Much of your work involves the use of branded items - brands local to Morocco, well-known

With the different prints, I am investigating the idea that the same clothing may be read

international brands, such as Louis Vuitton, and hybrid items that you design yourself, with

differently depending on ethnic background or sex. Leopardskin, camouflage and polka dots

patterns such as leopard-print, camouflage and polka dots. Is there a reason for this?

come in and out of fashion. Camouflage could mean either fashion or terrorism. Leopardskin could be a sexist cliché – an animal print on a woman riding a motorbike.

Brands play a large part in influencing my perception of the world. When I went back to

10

Morocco after an absence of several years, one of the first things I noticed was that the same

When I have an idea that I turn into a photograph, I hope that what I have in my head will come

products were still being sold in packaging that was designed in the 1950s and 1960s. With

across, but once it’s out there I feel naked because I’m exposing myself.

11

Most of your photographs are ‘staged’ and I believe that you personally design and make the

very alive. So while in Morocco I wanted to capture it – the energy, the food, the smells, the

costumes and props. Can you tell me how you approach a project?

organised chaos.

I start with friends, dancers or singers usually, then find the fabric and make the jelabahs and

The more I was shooting, the more layers I was finding – a ‘voyage of self-discovery’ if you

veils. I choose a backdrop, work out the lighting and then it’s just the production side, really. I

like. I was taking photos of street characters in Marrakesh who are constantly photographed

always sketch, but I like to leave room for improvisation.

by tourists, but I wanted to take them out of their immediate environment and turn them into stars. I photographed the snake charmer in front of a photographic backdrop instead of just as

The veil has recently become such a politically charged symbol and you use it as a

part of the scenery of Marrakech because I wanted to make him somebody unique. It was also

prominent feature in many of your photographs, often branded in a striking way. What is

something to do with my personal journey. I’m photographing something that’s close to me.

your intention?

Have you ever, or would you like to, stage any of your works anywhere else, or is Morocco In Islamic culture, each part of the Arab world uses the veil in a different way. In Morocco

the point?

it’s still worn, so I’m just chasing something that’s there and highlighting it. My mum wore a veil when I was young because my dad was living in England and she was living in a small

I’ve always wanted to go to Brazil and do a shoot on Capoiera, the Brazilian martial art that I

Moroccan village. She wouldn’t wear the veil in our neighbourhood, only when she went

practise in London. But in Morocco there are so many different stories. From here it might just

downtown to the market, as a protection for her reputation. To me it’s a piece of cloth and

look like Moroccan pictures, but for me it’s a lot more personal, so I want to keep documenting

there’s still sexiness behind it. I’m not putting women behind veils to repress them, I’m trying

it. Some of my works focus on documenting gnawa musicians who are famous in the Moroccan

to emphasise the playful aspect. I would disagree with imposing the veil on someone who was

music scene. A lot of the old ones have passed away already and nobody has documented

unwilling to wear it.

them. I want to record and document them to pass it along to the younger generation – to give something back to my culture, not just take things away.

Your work seems to be specifically directed at Morocco, despite having spent most of your life overseas. Can you explain why this is the case?

I also want one day to show my work in Morocco itself and to see the readings and reactions that it receives there.

I think it was probably being away from Morocco for so long that going back I wanted to

12

celebrate it. When you go to a foreign country, everything becomes highlighted and you become

Hassan Hajjaj in conversation with Juliet Cestar, London 2008

13

Most of your photographs are ‘staged’ and I believe that you personally design and make the

very alive. So while in Morocco I wanted to capture it – the energy, the food, the smells, the

costumes and props. Can you tell me how you approach a project?

organised chaos.

I start with friends, dancers or singers usually, then find the fabric and make the jelabahs and

The more I was shooting, the more layers I was finding – a ‘voyage of self-discovery’ if you

veils. I choose a backdrop, work out the lighting and then it’s just the production side, really. I

like. I was taking photos of street characters in Marrakesh who are constantly photographed

always sketch, but I like to leave room for improvisation.

by tourists, but I wanted to take them out of their immediate environment and turn them into stars. I photographed the snake charmer in front of a photographic backdrop instead of just as

The veil has recently become such a politically charged symbol and you use it as a

part of the scenery of Marrakech because I wanted to make him somebody unique. It was also

prominent feature in many of your photographs, often branded in a striking way. What is

something to do with my personal journey. I’m photographing something that’s close to me.

your intention?

Have you ever, or would you like to, stage any of your works anywhere else, or is Morocco In Islamic culture, each part of the Arab world uses the veil in a different way. In Morocco

the point?

it’s still worn, so I’m just chasing something that’s there and highlighting it. My mum wore a veil when I was young because my dad was living in England and she was living in a small

I’ve always wanted to go to Brazil and do a shoot on Capoiera, the Brazilian martial art that I

Moroccan village. She wouldn’t wear the veil in our neighbourhood, only when she went

practise in London. But in Morocco there are so many different stories. From here it might just

downtown to the market, as a protection for her reputation. To me it’s a piece of cloth and

look like Moroccan pictures, but for me it’s a lot more personal, so I want to keep documenting

there’s still sexiness behind it. I’m not putting women behind veils to repress them, I’m trying

it. Some of my works focus on documenting gnawa musicians who are famous in the Moroccan

to emphasise the playful aspect. I would disagree with imposing the veil on someone who was

music scene. A lot of the old ones have passed away already and nobody has documented

unwilling to wear it.

them. I want to record and document them to pass it along to the younger generation – to give something back to my culture, not just take things away.

Your work seems to be specifically directed at Morocco, despite having spent most of your life overseas. Can you explain why this is the case?

I also want one day to show my work in Morocco itself and to see the readings and reactions that it receives there.

I think it was probably being away from Morocco for so long that going back I wanted to

12

celebrate it. When you go to a foreign country, everything becomes highlighted and you become

Hassan Hajjaj in conversation with Juliet Cestar, London 2008

13

Feetball, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with plastic arabic alphabet, 62 x 86 cm, 2006

14

Feetball, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with plastic arabic alphabet, 62 x 86 cm, 2006

14

16

Said Nike, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with plastic arabic alphabet, 62 x 87 cm, 2000

Adidas Babouche, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with match boxes, 62 x 87 cm, 2000

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Said Nike, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with plastic arabic alphabet, 62 x 87 cm, 2000

Adidas Babouche, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with match boxes, 62 x 87 cm, 2000

17

Jama Fna Angels, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 93 x 129 cm, 2000

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Jama Fna Angels, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 93 x 129 cm, 2000

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H.H. Ladies, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with Coke cans, 93 x 130 cm, 2000

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H.H. Ladies, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with Coke cans, 93 x 130 cm, 2000

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22

Gang of Marrakesh, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with car paint cans, 129 x 94 cm, 2000

Ladies On Da Roof, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with Camel boxes, 95 x 130 cm, 2000

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22

Gang of Marrakesh, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with car paint cans, 129 x 94 cm, 2000

Ladies On Da Roof, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with Camel boxes, 95 x 130 cm, 2000

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L.V. Babouche, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with Coke cans, 100 x 128 cm, 2006

The Odd 1 Out, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with tomato cans, 132 x 93cm, 2000

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L.V. Babouche, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with Coke cans, 100 x 128 cm, 2006

The Odd 1 Out, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with tomato cans, 132 x 93cm, 2000

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Just One, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 136 x 93 cm, 2000

Jama Fna Ladies, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 136 x 93 cm, 2000

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Just One, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 136 x 93 cm, 2000

Jama Fna Ladies, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 136 x 93 cm, 2000

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Biography Hassan Hajjaj was born in 1961 in Larache,

2001 Graffix From The Souk,

AWARDS

RECORD ALBUMS

Morocco and moved to London in 1975, where

Apart Gallery, London

2003 Frame Magazine, for Arabian nights

2004 Momo album cover for

he has lived ever since. He works in London

2000 Pop Art In The Kasbah, Ministero Del Gusto

and Marrakech.

2003 Best Restaurant Design award for

2003 Think Tank by Blur, EMI records,

Andy Wahloo bar, Paris, France

provided paintings for launch

of album on Blur’s website

Gallery, Marrakesh, Morocco

Momo Records, London

SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS

SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2008 Hassan Hajjaj, Dakka Marrakesh,

2008 Mediterraneo, Italian Institute, London

PUBLICATIONS [selected]

2000 Medina album cover for

2008 The Liverpool Arabic Art Festival, England

2008 Canvas Magazine, Vol IV, issue 3,

2007 The Third Line, Dubai, UAE

2007 Christie’s Gallery, Dubai, UAE

2006 Riad Yima opening, Marrakesh, Morocco

2007 Sotheby’s, London

2007 Noss Noss, Hassan Hajjaj,

EVENTS [selected]

2005 Arabic Film Posters @ Dar Sharfia,

2007 Social System, Newlyn Art Gallery

Third Line Gallery, November 2007;

2007 Tut’s Tearoom, King Tutankhamun

Leighton House Museum, London

Marakkesh, Morocco

and the Exchange, Penzance

Pino Daniele, BMG Italy

May-June 2008

Alef magazine, London;

Exhibition, the O2 Centre, London;

2005 Fashion in Motion,

2005 Sounds Africa African Year Installation,

Casa Da Abitare, February 2007;

London Liming at Rich Mix arts

Starbucks, Camden, London

Elle, UK edition; Elle Decoration, France;

and culture centre, London

2005 Salon Enrique,

2005 Contemporary African Visual Arts, Painting

Time Out, Dubai December 2007

2006 Arabise Me at the Victoria & Albert

Royal Festival Hall, London

2005 Africa Remix, Hayward Gallery, London

2004 Black British Style,

2003 Graffix From The Souk,

Fifth Festival of Cultural Diversity,

2004 Graffix From The Souk,

ADVERTISING AND TELEVISION WORK

2003 Graffix From The Souk furniture

Institut Francais, London

Artisania, Rabat, Saler, Morocco

2002 Graffix From The Souk images used in

2003 Graffix From The Souk, Moroccan

promotional material for UNICEF’s The

Of African Child London

Toy Soldier In Aid Of UNICEF campaign

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

2003 Graffix From The Souk: Gone Interior

28

recycling, Paris, France

Design, Andy Wahloo Bar, Paris, France

& Furniture, British Museum, London

2004 Chill Out Space (Loft Publications, Spain)

2003 Frame, edition 34, Netherlands

2005 Meltdown, Patti Smith concert,

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Cultural Week, Covent Garden, London

Museum, London

Royal Festival Hall, London

2002 Graffix From The Souk, Taros,

2001 Ungaro Perfume by Ungaro, paintings

Essaouira, Morocco

used in advertising campaign and

in documentary on Paris Mode TV

installation for UNICEF/The Day

29

Biography Hassan Hajjaj was born in 1961 in Larache,

2001 Graffix From The Souk,

AWARDS

RECORD ALBUMS

Morocco and moved to London in 1975, where

Apart Gallery, London

2003 Frame Magazine, for Arabian nights

2004 Momo album cover for

he has lived ever since. He works in London

2000 Pop Art In The Kasbah, Ministero Del Gusto

and Marrakech.

2003 Best Restaurant Design award for

2003 Think Tank by Blur, EMI records,

Andy Wahloo bar, Paris, France

provided paintings for launch

of album on Blur’s website

Gallery, Marrakesh, Morocco

Momo Records, London

SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS

SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2008 Hassan Hajjaj, Dakka Marrakesh,

2008 Mediterraneo, Italian Institute, London

PUBLICATIONS [selected]

2000 Medina album cover for

2008 The Liverpool Arabic Art Festival, England

2008 Canvas Magazine, Vol IV, issue 3,

2007 The Third Line, Dubai, UAE

2007 Christie’s Gallery, Dubai, UAE

2006 Riad Yima opening, Marrakesh, Morocco

2007 Sotheby’s, London

2007 Noss Noss, Hassan Hajjaj,

EVENTS [selected]

2005 Arabic Film Posters @ Dar Sharfia,

2007 Social System, Newlyn Art Gallery

Third Line Gallery, November 2007;

2007 Tut’s Tearoom, King Tutankhamun

Leighton House Museum, London

Marakkesh, Morocco

and the Exchange, Penzance

Pino Daniele, BMG Italy

May-June 2008

Alef magazine, London;

Exhibition, the O2 Centre, London;

2005 Fashion in Motion,

2005 Sounds Africa African Year Installation,

Casa Da Abitare, February 2007;

London Liming at Rich Mix arts

Starbucks, Camden, London

Elle, UK edition; Elle Decoration, France;

and culture centre, London

2005 Salon Enrique,

2005 Contemporary African Visual Arts, Painting

Time Out, Dubai December 2007

2006 Arabise Me at the Victoria & Albert

Royal Festival Hall, London

2005 Africa Remix, Hayward Gallery, London

2004 Black British Style,

2003 Graffix From The Souk,

Fifth Festival of Cultural Diversity,

2004 Graffix From The Souk,

ADVERTISING AND TELEVISION WORK

2003 Graffix From The Souk furniture

Institut Francais, London

Artisania, Rabat, Saler, Morocco

2002 Graffix From The Souk images used in

2003 Graffix From The Souk, Moroccan

promotional material for UNICEF’s The

Of African Child London

Toy Soldier In Aid Of UNICEF campaign

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

2003 Graffix From The Souk: Gone Interior

28

recycling, Paris, France

Design, Andy Wahloo Bar, Paris, France

& Furniture, British Museum, London

2004 Chill Out Space (Loft Publications, Spain)

2003 Frame, edition 34, Netherlands

2005 Meltdown, Patti Smith concert,

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Cultural Week, Covent Garden, London

Museum, London

Royal Festival Hall, London

2002 Graffix From The Souk, Taros,

2001 Ungaro Perfume by Ungaro, paintings

Essaouira, Morocco

used in advertising campaign and

in documentary on Paris Mode TV

installation for UNICEF/The Day

29

30

Ilham, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 94 x 129 cm, 2000

Mwarka, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 94 x 129 cm, 2006

31

30

Ilham, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 94 x 129 cm, 2000

Mwarka, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 94 x 129 cm, 2006

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Leighton House Museum 2008 12 Holland Park Road, London W14 8LZ

Tagia Man in Blue, digital C-type print with hand painted background and tyre and wood frame, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

Leighton House Museum 2008 12 Holland Park Road, London W14 8LZ

Tagia Man in Blue, digital C-type print with hand painted background and tyre and wood frame, 50 x 40 cm, 2000

Hassan Hajjaj Dakka Marrakesh In his colourful and bold works, Hajjaj playfully questions stereotypes, using accessories by big-name fashion brands to subvert traditional Moroccan dress. Hajjaj poses friends, Gnawa musicians and local characters from Marrakesh in theatrical narratives that draw on his Moroccan childhood and later experience of the international fashion industry.

Drawing on street culture, music and fashion, the characters portrayed in Dakka Marrakesh take pleasure and pride in their culture, engaging the viewer in a politics of observation that questions and plays with the traditional Western outlook.

Ilham, digital C-type print and handmade walnut frame with mixed cans, 94 x 129 cm, 2000