Conflating Western perceptions of Arabic society, Hassan Hajjaj uses the language of fashion photography to produce boldly colorful portraits of strangers, friends, and celebrities alike against joyful backdrops on the streets of Marrakesh. Hajjaj playfully poses and dresses his subjects with expertly blended ensembles of modern streetwear and traditional Moroccan prints.

Hajjaj then builds the custom frames for the resulting photograph and fills them with local consumer products labeled with Arabic text, from Pepsi cans, green tea tins, and canned tomatoes. The use of repetition of the quotidian goods in a grid mimics the repetition of traditional Islamic zellige mosaic tiles and architecture, simultaneously elevating the items and the sitters and creating a play between “high” and “low” cultures.