TAYMOUR GRAHNE KESH ANGELS — Ninu Nina Artist Interviews

Feb 21

Feb 21 TAYMOUR GRAHNE KESH ANGELS

If your in New York definitely make a stop at the Taymour Grahne Gallery ( founded by the art collector and creator of the Art of the Middle East blog) in Tribeca to view Hassan Hajjaj's Kesh Angels exhibition. Born in Morocco, in 1961, Hassan Hajjaj moved to London at an early age and became heavily influenced by the club culture, hip-hop, and reggae scenes of London as well as by his North African heritage. Hajjaj is a self-taught and thoroughly versatile artist and for some reason it reminds me of art work that would inspire an M.I.A video.

Kesh Angels ( from Hells Angels) presents a series of kitschy and colorful photographs of bootleg Chanel and LV street style abaya clad Arab women in veils posing on their motorcycles ( challenging the common stereotypes of Arab women) and frames them using every day objects such as Pepsi cans, turning them into pieces of hanging sculpture.

In 2009, Hajjaj was shortlisted for Victoria & Albert Museum’s Jameel Prize for Islamic Art. His solo exhibitions have been held at The Third Line, Dubai; Rose Issa Projects, London; Freies Museum, Berlin, as well as group exhibitions such as The Marrakesh Art Biennale; Edge of Arabia, London; Photoqua, Paris; and Re-orientations at Rose Issa Projects, among others. The artist lives and works between London and Marrakech.