REVIEWShe explains. He worked as a DJ in underground clubs and eventually began collaborating
with stylists on music videos and fashion shoots. These experiences inspired him to
photograph those who were not recognised by the mainstream – his own ‘rock stars.’Hajjaj’s rock stars live beyond the quest for money and fame. One example is the portrait
that he took of Muneera Rashida and Sukina Abdul Noor, the so-called ‘Hip-Hop
Hijabis.’ Muslim converts born in England to Jamaican parents, they formed the hip-
hop and spoken word duo Poetic Pilgrimage. The song they perform in Hajjaj’s video is
called No More War, seeking to counter Islamophobia and question stereotypes. Hajjaj
also photographed another powerful female performer, the British-Nigerian musician
Helen Parker-Jayne, who goes by the stage name The Venus Bushfires. In the video, she
performs a solo on a Swiss-made hang drum, which has a hypnotic sound that blends
well with her singing voice. The Venus Bushfires styles her hair with a stick oriented
horizontally, using hair extensions to turn it into a large moveable sculpture. Hajjaj took
care to adorn her signature hairstyle with a Moroccan-inspired turban, dressing her in
white cat-eye glasses and a Moroccan tunic and shoes. Her portrait has both high fashion
and vernacular elements. She appears to exist outside of time and place, imparting a
simultaneously vintage and futuristic feel.Hajjaj patterned studio backdrops are reminiscent of those used by Malian photographers
Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibé but his primary source of inspiration was having his
own picture taken as a child by itinerant Moroccan photographers. The Worcester Art
Museum held a Community Day during which Hajjaj set up a pop-up studio inside the
museum and photographed visitors. He welcomed the spontaneity of people interacting
with him and continued his aesthetic of photographing people from below to give them
an empowering and theatrical appearance.The exhibition at the Worcester Art Museum creates a more reflective space than his pop-
up studio could, presenting a place where people can slow down and really experience the
work. His installation includes several Moroccan-style sitting areas designed by the artist
from recycled materials: plastic Coca-Cola cartons and paint cans from Morocco that
he covered with cushions, which were created from imitation Louis Vuitton vinyl fabric
and pillows made from flour sacks. The script on the low tables, typical of Moroccan
homes, spells qaf meaning ‘stop,’ in Arabic, indicating that one should linger in the space.
He repeated the Arabic word for ‘stop’ and ‘wake up’ on the bold, colourfully patterned
wallpaper that adorns the interior of the exhibition space, as well as a large brass sign
that says ‘no pissing’ (also in Arabic), referring to the English pun ‘take the piss,’ meaning
to mock someone. Such mundane commercial products as sardine cans, shampoo
bottles, Pringles cans and dishwashing detergent arranged on a series of built-in shelves
create bold, repetitive patterns typical of Islamic ornamentation and, at the same time,MY ROCK STARS / CYNTHIA BECKER 3/5 ARTAFRICA