Hassan Hajjaj depicts a globalized society in which the margins of cultural identity—whether African, Arab, or European—are continuously shifting and blurred. Some of his sitters are deliberately clothed, posed, or framed so as to create a conscious friction with Western stereotypes. Clad in traditional fabrics, clothes, and shoes, often branded with Louis Vuitton or Nike logos, and posed in the manner of international fashion models, rock stars, or sports heroes, his subjects bridge the gap between folk and chic, now and then, and us and them, reflecting a brilliant fusion of Moroccan street style and contemporary art. In Feetball, Hajjaj injects global brands with North African style, as seen in the babouche (Moroccan slipper) emblazoned with the Nike logo. Here, as with many of his photographs, Hajjaj created a frame specifically for this image, into which he has inserted colorful plastic children’s blocks, complementing the diminutive pairs of feet in the photograph.
Hajjaj was born in Larache, a small harbor town in northern Morocco. He moved to London as a teenager and now divides his time between that city and Marrakesh. Increasingly well known for his photographs, Hajjaj is also a filmmaker and a designer.
