Tag Archives: Somerset House

London: Hassan Hajjaj – La Caravane

Hassan Hajjaj - La Caravane

Somerset House is currently hosting Hassan Hajjaj: La Caravane, a homecoming exhibition of the British-Moroccan artist, showcasing his vibrant fusion of contemporary cultures through new and celebrated works.

The exhibition is the first UK solo show of his work in seven years, celebrating his multi-layered works which fuse traditional and contemporary North African culture with familiar Western imagery and iconography.

Hassan Hajjaj - La CaravaneHassan Hajjaj - La CaravaneHassan Hajjaj - La Caravane

Born and raised in Larache, Morroco, Hassan Hajjaj moved to London aged twelve and his artistic practice sees him spend much of his life travelling between these two countries and cultures. His artworks reflect his neo-nomadic lifestyle and the relationships he has formed with a variety of characters along the way, from musicians to artists and athletes to street performers. These individuals inspire Hajjaj’s diverse artworks from photographic portraits to video installations, sculptures, music, design and handcrafted objects.
Infused with a bold palette, the materials Hajjaj uses include patterned textiles, furniture, clothes and props often created by the artist to inform our understanding of the person in the image. All of these elements, including the frames made out of everyday items in which his images sit, are chosen deliberately to highlight these individuals’ identities.
He is perhaps best known for his colourful photographic portraits, including the Kesh Angels series, from which many new works feature in the exhibition.

Hassan Hajjaj - La Caravane
Hassan Hajjaj - La Caravane
Hassan Hajjaj - La CaravaneHassan Hajjaj - La Caravane

Blending the glossy aesthetic of a fashion shoot with Moroccan tradition and street culture, these witty and poignant images, although outwardly light-hearted, challenge Western perceptions of the hijab and female disempowerment.

Another new body of work in the exhibition is My Rock Stars: Volume 2, a nine screen installation of distinctively dressed musicians. Each musician occupies an individual screen and takes it in turns to play their instrument, while the other performers turn to watch. The clothes and brightly patterned backdrops in each screen have been carefully selected by Hajjaj to highlight each player and their individual performance.

Hassan Hajjaj - La Caravane

Visitors can view the performances from Hajjaj’s signature Le Salon installation, which takes the form of a customised sofa, whilst the music travels throughout the whole exhibition.

Hassan Hajjaj - La Caravane

On 6 January a free special event will take place to celebrate the final weekend of the exhibition and Somerset House’s season of African Art, including live music and a family workshop inspired by elements of Hajjaj’s work.

Hassan Hajjaj - La Caravane

View the full set of pics here

Hassan Hajjaj – La Caravane
Somerset House
London

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London: Venturing Beyond @ Somerset House

Venturing Beyond at Somerset House

The Somerset House is currently celebrating the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s book Utopia with a large show called UTOPIA 2016: A Year of Imagination and Possibility.
As part of this major exhibition, arts organisation A(by)P have renewed their collaboration with Somerset House ( see our previous coverage on Mapping the City and Futurismo Ancestral) with a new exhibition Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street.

The show is exploring unsanctioned public art – or graffiti – as an intrinsically utopian practice and features specially-commissioned work of eighteen street artists from around the globe, including Antwan Horfée, Brad Downey, Eltono, Filippo Minelli, Huskmitnavn, Les Freres Ripoulain, Lucas Dillon, Mike Ballard, Misha Hollenbach, Nano4814, Petro, Revok, Russell Maurice, Saeio, Shepard Fairey, Sixe Paredes and Swoon.

Italian artist Fillipo Minelli kicked off the exhibition with his smoke performance, part of his ongoing Silence / Shapes series.

Venturing Beyond at Somerset HouseVenturing Beyond at Somerset House

Using high visibility material, Petro (UK) enables the viewers to venture in places not normally accessible (through its ability to make the wearer invisible).

Venturing Beyond at Somerset House     Venturing Beyond at Somerset House Venturing Beyond at Somerset House     Venturing Beyond at Somerset HouseVenturing Beyond at Somerset House

Blur Book from Les Freres Ripoulain (FR) is a version of a graffiti artist’s ‘Black Book’, but they have pixelated the content, to draw attention to the site specific context in which these works exist and to the performative doing of graffiti. NegatifX features a selection of images from their urban interventions between 2006 and 2016.

Venturing Beyond at Somerset House Venturing Beyond at Somerset House
Venturing Beyond at Somerset House Venturing Beyond at Somerset House

Brad Downey (US) created installation works that remain invisible at first sight using coloured wall plugs, installed directly behind other artist’s pieces.

Venturing Beyond at Somerset House

Mike Ballard‘s series of work are inspired by the ‘urban hieroglyphics’ left by utility companies left on London Streets and explore the threshold between public and private space.

Venturing Beyond at Somerset House

From 13 – 20 April, French artists Horfée and Russell Maurice will take up residency, providing visitors with an insight into the processes of the practice. Working in situ, they will produce a new body of work based on the utopian themes of the exhibition. This project space will then remain open for viewing alongside the main exhibition until 2 May.
Venturing Beyond at Somerset HouseVenturing Beyond at Somerset House   Venturing Beyond at Somerset House  Venturing Beyond at Somerset HouseVenturing Beyond at Somerset House

In addition, A(by)P and Somerset House will be producing a wide-ranging programme of events to follow the key themes of the exhibition, including workshops, talks, films, music and performances.

Venturing Beyond at Somerset House     Venturing Beyond at Somerset House  Venturing Beyond at Somerset House     Venturing Beyond at Somerset House     Venturing Beyond at Somerset House Venturing Beyond at Somerset House     Venturing Beyond at Somerset House Venturing Beyond at Somerset House     Venturing Beyond at Somerset House

View the full set of pics here

Venturing Beyond:
Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street.
3 March – 2 May 2016
Terrace Rooms, South Wing
Somerset House

London: Mapping the City – Somerset House

Mapping the City - Somerset House

Following the success of the 2014 exhibition Futurismo Ancestral: An Offering to Peru by Sixe Paredes (featured here), the collaborative arts organisation Approved by Pablo is curating a new exhibition entitled Mapping the City at Somerset House in London.

Over 50 internationally recognised artists from the street art and graffiti scene including Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Swoon, Momo, Remed  take over the New Wing of Somerset House to  share their knowledge of each city’s secrets and urban landscape through a variety of media from illustrations, paintings, sculptures, installations and videos.

Mapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset House  Mapping the City - Somerset House   Mapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset House     Mapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset House  Mapping the City - Somerset House   Mapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset House

Full list of participating artists include:  108 (IT), 3TTMAN (ES), Aryz (ES), Augustine Kofie (US), Boris Tellegen (NL), Brad Downey (US), Caleb Neelon (US), Cali Thornhill Dewitt (US), Chu (AR), Cleon Peterson (US), Cult of RAM:ELL:ZEE (UK), Egs (FI), Ekta (SE), Eltono (FR), Erosie (NL), Filippo Minelli (IT), Gold Peg (UK), Graphic Surgery (NL), Herbert Baglione (ES), Honet (FR), Horfee (FR), Huskmitvan (DK), Isauro Huizar (DK), Isaac Tin Wei Lin (US), James Jarvis (UK), June (US), Ken Sortais (FR), Les Freres Ripoulain (FR), Malarko (UK), Mathieu Tremblin (FR), Martin Tibabuzo (AR), Mike Ballard (UK), Momo (US), Mudwig (UK), Nano184 (ES), Nug (SE), OX (FE), Petro (UK), Psychoze (FR), Remed (FR), Ron English (US), Russel Maurice (UK), Shantell Martin (UK), Shepard Fairey (US), Sixe Parades (ES), Spok (ES), Susumu Mukai (JP), Swoon (US), Tim Head (UK), Will Sweeney (UK)

Mapping the City - Somerset House  Mapping the City - Somerset House   Mapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset House     Mapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset House     Mapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset HouseMapping the City - Somerset House     Mapping the City - Somerset House

View the full set of pics here

 To complement the exhibition, Somerset House and A(by)P are hosting a diverse series of events, including a series of film and music evenings, artists talks, performances and interactive workshops, all inspiring visitors to re-evaluate their own relationship to the cities in which they live. View the full program of events here

Mapping the city
Somerset House
Until 15 February 2015

London: Sixe Parades – Futurismo Ancestral

Sixe Parades - Futurismo Ancestral

Following our recent coverage ( see preview) we attended the opening of   Barcelona based artist Sixe Paredes new exhibition titled Futurismo Ancestral: An Offering to Peru at Somerset House. 

A colourful delight for all senses from food, music, sculptures and installations.

Sixe Parades - Futurismo Ancestral      Sixe Parades - Futurismo Ancestral      Sixe Parades - Futurismo AncestralSixe Parades - Futurismo Ancestral      Sixe Parades - Futurismo AncestralSixe Parades - Futurismo Ancestral      Sixe Parades - Futurismo AncestralSixe Parades - Futurismo Ancestral

View the full set of pics here

Futurismo Ancestral:
An Offering to Peru by Sixe Paredes
Until 26 May 2014
Somerset House, Great Arch Hall,
Lightwells & Deadhouse, South Wing