Highlights from Hassan Hajjaj’s solo exhibition ‘My Rock Stars’

DUBAI: ‘Souad Massi’

Billed as “a joyous coming together of photography and music,” the acclaimed Anglo-Moroccan artist’s solo show at the Musée de la Musique de la Philharmonie de Paris “draws on his African, Arab, Gnawa and Amazigh heritages, as well as on the reggae and hip-hop cultures of the 1980s, to celebrate the many figures who inspire him.” Hajjaj’s vibrant images of musicians, including this shot of the Algerian singer-songwriter, are framed, as is typical of his work, by branded products that will be recognizable to many from the MENA region.

It was another Algerian singer-songwriter, Rachid Taha, who gave Hajjaj the nickname “Andy Wahlou” — a nod both to his pop-art styling and a play on the phrase “andi walou,” meaning “I have nothing at all” in Darija.