The aesthetics of Hassan Hajjaj’s works are as distinct as the path that has led him and his creations to where they are today. Growing up among the Islamic traditions of Morocco, Hajjaj came to London at the age of 12, where he quickly became involved in the city’s music, fashion, art and film scenes. Hajjaj describes London as being “one of the most cosmopolitan, international cities in the world – [it] gave me a different way of looking at myself”. Despite having to find new footing in a foreign country, Hajjaj never forgot his roots: “Morocco was always there as a backdrop because you know, when you leave a country, you always keep the memories, I suppose even stronger than if you’d lived there.”
Not only these memories – personal interests can also be discovered continuously through his work, such as in his ‘My Rock Stars’ series (2012–), in which his multifaceted love of music – ranging from pop, hip-hop, reggae and dub on to Latin American and Hindi music genres – is interwoven and unmistakable.
You were born in Morocco and came to London aged 12. You now work between Morocco and the UK. How does that dual heritage affect your work?
Majorly. Without one or the other, I definitely wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now. Growing up in Morocco meant growing up among the traditions of an Islamic country. And then coming to London and living in one of the most cosmopolitan, most international cities in the world that gave me a different way of looking at myself.
Morocco was always there as a backdrop because you know, when you leave a country you always keep the memories, I suppose even stronger than if you’d lived there. So between these two places, it gave me a different way of looking at myself and my work.
You’ve created a very distinct aesthetic in your work. How have you developed that style?
Growing up in London I got involved with music, fashion, art and film. I was watching Yo, MTV Raps and going to reggae gigs, listening to dub, Latin music, Hindi music. This really was an influence. I worked as an assistant stylist. I worked on music videos. I had a fashion shop. And that really came out in the work. And as for colour, it’s probably to do with growing up in Morocco. It’s such a colourful place – the clashing colours that people wear, the light. All this was inside me. Living in England, I suppose we live in a film noir, it’s quite a grey country. So the photos were a form of escapism for myself. When I set up a shoot, at that moment I’m escaping myself, along with the sitter, into a more colourful world.
One of the particular approaches in your work is that you shoot from a low angle and you bring this slightly heroic aspect to your subjects. What’s behind that?
This is a combination of a few things. It’s definitely coming from growing up watching martial arts movies and Hype Williams hip-hop videos. If you look at Chinese martial arts movies, they like to make people look heroic. And you can look at street photography, especially in hip-hop, there’s a lot of shots from the ground up. Especially when I do exterior shoots, I always try to do something cinematic so it feels like there’s a story there. In formal studio shoots, people use quite clean, clear shots. I just wanted to make my figures even bigger than they are so the viewer goes to see the work they’re looking up at them and the subject is looking down, creating this big character that’s almost king-like.
What’s the genesis of the My Rock Stars series? Where did it come from initially as an idea?
I always remember the cover of Vanity Fair with Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit from March 1997, lying in bed with a Union Jack bed cover. It was the time of Cool Britannia, Tony Blair had just come in, you had Oasis and Blur. And that really hurt me. I was like, what about us? My friends, people like me. There are so many talented people who aren’t given the opportunity to go mainstream. Where are we? We’re not getting a look in.
So this is when I felt, I’ve got these incredible people that are really striving to do things, not just in London but in Paris, Morocco and Brazil. Let me capture them. So really it started from there and just grew. As I was shooting I thought, there’s this other person and this other person. It just continued. I thought, look at people like Malick Sidibé who shot sitters in their city and documented their people. I thought, I’m that new generation who can capture their friends, who can capture Keziah Jones in Paris or a capoeira master from Brazil. It’s not just about taking a pretty picture. It’s my job to really document the situation and try to make an army of these people.
How did you decide on the selection of people you’ve chosen for this exhibition?
With what’s going on with Brexit and what’s happening beyond England, in Europe and in America with Trump, this felt like a really good moment to do this. I’m not a political artist but I wanted to use this exhibition to try to tell a story capturing all these people to say, we’re part of here as well.
So this is a kind of portrait of Britain?
In a sense, yes, definitely. People like myself, like yourself, who are born here or came here or are maybe second or third generation, we’re part of this country. It’s about trying to tell a story. Hopefully, people who can come to the show can see themselves in the work.
There’s potentially a lot to be frustrated or angry about when it comes to growing up in Britain and thinking about race or cultural identity. But you always seem to capture a very positive sense of people in your portraits.
The people in the pictures come from all different parts of the world and when you start putting them next to each other, it becomes a positive image. For me as an artist, I’d rather be on the positive side and maybe make the viewer see something positive in themselves than trying to be gloomy. If I have, young people especially, coming up to the work and feeling like, “Oh I can be that person”, or “I can be the person taking that picture”, then for me, that’s the greatest feeling you can have as an artist. That’s what keeps me doing the work.
Tell us about the exhibition title, The Path?
It comes originally from an album of the same name by the jazz-funk artist Ralph MacDonald. We had a conversation and he suggested using the title from a record and I was so happy. For years, I wanted to use the name and to be able to create a show with that title. The work in this show is really a journey, it’s telling the story of the people back at home in Morocco and then it goes into My Rock Stars. So really it’s just a perfect title for the show.
‘My Rock Stars’ (2012-) by Hassan Hajjaj features in SLEEK #67, which is available now both in print and digital editions.
Special Acknowledgement per Skinder Hundal, Director/CEO New Art Exchange
Both Ekow Eshun, the curator, and Hassan Hajjaj, the artist, are iconic symbols of hope and inspiration for people of colour, also wider society. They synchronise in so many ways complementing one another’s life and professional interests bringing exuberance and energy into our lives. Ekow and Hassan, in what they share, offer an explosion of colour that refracts in a multitude of ways – sharing the brilliance of distinct aesthetics and narratives that must be heard.
Credits
All images courtesy of the artist.