Mehdi-Georges Lahlou the 29 year old French-Moroccan artist based in Brussels drawing on the history of performance and installation-art, and incorporating references to Belgian Surrealism in his works. Born to a Christian mother and Muslim father, the theme of crossing boundaries set by culture, religion and gender is present in all of his installations and performances. Lahlou is the subject of an article by Nicolai Hartvig published on Blouin Artinfo titled ‘Mehdi-Georges Lahlou Dons Heels to Stir Religious Debate’. Hartvig states “…[his] works hit on several sensitive issues in Muslim culture: the prohibition on modifying one’s body, nudity, sexuality, and improper use of the Koran and religious objects. …With his loose combination of religious iconography and incongruous objects, the ambiguous humor in Lahlou’s work is often misunderstood. But his approach is never casual — rather it blurs the boundaries between personal commentary on his subjects alongside artistic thought. “I’m not an activist shouting. I am truly respectful of religions and beliefs, except when they kill or hurt people,” Lahlou explains. “As a person, I have a political opinion, I take a position or I don’t. But in my work, I don’t want it to be like that. I want people to be in an awkward position and not know what’s happening, whether it’s humor or reality, true or false. I lean toward being stupid [in my work] because I don’t want to make people think that I am saying bad things. You can have criticisms, but that doesn’t mean that you’re against something. You can have fun with everything — but can you really have fun with everything?” …Lahlou plans to reduce his physical presence in his work. “There is the fear of repeating myself, even if everything I do is different. Since I am the basis of my work — I’m often the model, even if I’m not there — I get a bit tired of myself. Today, I want to think more, to be a bit less present,” he says. “But I think that I will still have things to say for 30 more years.” Inspired by Nicolai Hartvig ow.ly/gpOAu image source Twitter ow.ly/gpOzv You can have fun with everything (January 3 2013)Mehdi-Georges Lahlou the 29 year old French-Moroccan artist based in Brussels drawing on the history of performance and installation-art, and incorporating references to Belgian Surrealism in his works. Born to a Christian mother and Muslim father, the theme of crossing boundaries set by culture, religion and gender is present in all of his installations and performances. Lahlou is the subject of an article by Nicolai Hartvig published on Blouin Artinfo titled ‘Mehdi-Georges Lahlou Dons Heels to Stir Religious Debate’. Hartvig states “…[his] works hit on several sensitive issues in Muslim culture: the prohibition on modifying one’s body, nudity, sexuality, and improper use of the Koran and religious objects. …With his loose combination of religious iconography and incongruous objects, the ambiguous humor in Lahlou’s work is often misunderstood. But his approach is never casual — rather it blurs the boundaries between personal commentary on his subjects alongside artistic thought. “I’m not an activist shouting. I am truly respectful of religions and beliefs, except when they kill or hurt people,” Lahlou explains. “As a person, I have a political opinion, I take a position or I don’t. But in my work, I don’t want it to be like that. I want people to be in an awkward position and not know what’s happening, whether it’s humor or reality, true or false. I lean toward being stupid [in my work] because I don’t want to make people think that I am saying bad things. You can have criticisms, but that doesn’t mean that you’re against something. You can have fun with everything — but can you really have fun with everything?” …Lahlou plans to reduce his physical presence in his work. “There is the fear of repeating myself, even if everything I do is different. Since I am the basis of my work — I’m often the model, even if I’m not there — I get a bit tired of myself. Today, I want to think more, to be a bit less present,” he says. “But I think that I will still have things to say for 30 more years.”

 

Inspired by Nicolai Hartvig ow.ly/gpOAu image source Twitter ow.ly/gpOzv