Hassan Hajjaj - Contemporary Art Day Sale London Friday, October 17, 2008 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private collection, Europe

  • Literature

    L.Ball-Lechgar, Canvas, Street chic:hassan hajjaj, Volume 4 May/June 2008, p.148-9 (another work from the edition illustrated)   

  • Catalogue Essay

    Hassan Hajjaj is a Moroccan artist whose photographs playfully explore cultural imagery and ethnic stereotyping. Inspired by the vibrant Arabesque aesthetic of his native North Africa, Hajjaj’s portraits often depict exotically adorned female figures, and are set within customized frames fixed with consumer items. At a thematic level, it appears as though Hajjaj’s portraits are conceptually neo-Orientalist, drawing on the traditional Orientalist themes of Eastern fascination, cultural fetishism and sensual decadence, elements used to create images which serve as highly stylized and embellished snapshots of the characters they depict. The present piece bears all these salient hallmarks, capturing a voyeuristic portrayal of a group of seductively veiled women engaged in gossiping, set against simple consumer packaging which serves as a form of cultural contextualisation. It is an image that demonstrates Hajjaj’s effortless ability to combine aesthetically stunning photography with existent objects, resulting in works that are both perceptive and visually brilliant.

70

Gossiping

2000
C-print in the artist’s wooden frame with inset accumulation of matchboxes.
65 x 86.5 cm. (25 5/8 x 34 in).
Signed, titled, numbered of ten and dated GOSSIPING HASSAN HAJJAJ 2000 [in English and Arabic]’ on the reverse. This work is from an edition of ten.

Estimate
£4,000 - 6,000 

Sold for £5,250

Contemporary Art Day Sale

18 Oct 2008 2pm
London