Photograph, Odd 1 Out, from the series Kesh Angels

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco as part of Contemporary Muslim Fashions.

Hassan Hajjaj grew up in Morocco and moved to London when he was twelve. His Kesh Angels series, begun in 1998, “celebrates the colors and womanhood of Morocco . . . It turns around the stereotype that people may have of women in Muslim countries.” Their eclectically patterned outfits are of the artist’s creation, but the motorbikes are not. Hajjaj explains, “There’s not much public transport, and the streets are so narrow that it is, along with bicycles, the most convenient mode of transport [for] most Marrakeshi men and women.”

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Contemporary Muslim Fashions.