Enuma Okoro on the work of Ali Hassoun:
More hereI am drawn to art that re-contextualizes things and helps me see beyond what I have already seen. Ali Hassoun, is an artist I recently discovered whose whose work does this for me. I love how he mixes people and cultural artifacts in ways that make us rethink fixed ideas of what types of people fit particular contexts and roles.
In these paintings, beyond the visual beauty of the work, I was deeply moved by Hassoun’s decision to portray these simply dressed everyday African women whose livelihoods are likely made by selling fruits and vegetables, as creators of classical master pieces known throughout the world. Because, why couldn’t these women, if given the tools, create masterful works of art? I would love to know peoples’ visceral reactions to these images. These paintings offer another dimension in which to regard “The African Woman.”
