20/20 meet the artists: Habib Hajallie

Tell us a bit about your artistic work, discipline & background:

"My practice looks to empower often marginalised minorities through the exploration of identity within portraiture. Confronting socio-political issues within my drawings can act as a catalyst for a discourse regarding the perception of various demographics as being of lesser humanistic value. Specifically, with the disenfranchised often being undermined by mainstream media; somewhat paradoxically reflecting an archaic hierarchy of status, similar to colonial ideologies.

"Using antique texts and maps as the canvases for my works enables me to pragmatically re-contextualise ephemera, creating a cohesion between the concepts informing the work and the aesthetic output. As I empower various figures; I simultaneously do so with the ground used, presenting them within new contexts. Placing myself or family members as the subjects of my portraits evokes a sense of immediacy, apropos to navigating the intersection of my western upbringing and familial West African culture.

"Informed by my Sierra Leonean and Lebanese heritage, I am conscious of representing figures that have historically been conspicuously omitted from traditional British portraiture. I call upon anecdotal references to portray scenes that are occasionally quasi-surrealist representations; confronting lingering ethnocentrisms that are still embedded within modern western society.

"I employ delicate mark-making techniques with precise strokes of the everyday ballpoint pen. This process is influenced by sketches from the High Renaissance. I meticulously build layers of tonality leading to an element of photorealism. Through an almost contradictory process of using this relatively modern art medium with a classical approach to markmaking: I look to celebrate authentic drawing within the digital age.

"At the core of my practice, I depict motifs that contradict largely accepted revisionist narratives apropos to West African Histories. The portraits investigate how identity can be constructed by historical oppression, with semblances of antiquated ideologies at the root of nuanced prejudices that I have personally experienced. Ultimately, my work looks to embolden individuals that feel to me as though they have been labelled as the ‘other’ in any manifestation."

Why did you apply for the 20/20 project? 

"Throughout the mid to late 20th century, and even into the start of the 2000s; artists from ethnically diverse backgrounds were all usually referred to as Black artists, regardless of their ethnic origins. This catch all terminology, was an attempt to pigeonhole people of colour that were/are making important contributions towards British art as a whole.

"Since reading Eddie Chambers’ Black Artists in British Art as a first year university student, I felt an immense sense of despair for the many artists that came before me, who may have been from a similar ethnic background as I, I did more research and that despair turned into gratitude for the resilience and fortitude of the many great pioneering artists, that paved the way to enable a course of less friction for artists like myself.

"Though there are still many barriers of entry based on race and ethnicity, the work of artists such as Frank Bowling, Sonia Boyce, Keith Piper, Claudette Johnson, Lumina Himid and many others was crucial as they continued to make significant works during periods where they were not given great enough recognition, which is an issue that is still recently being rectified, initiatives such as the 20/20 project are crucial for artists such as myself who are aware and looking for ways to implement meaningful change.

"Having my work placed within such a context would serve to only broaden the scope of my practice, as having my work placed within the wider narrative of British art being made today will push me to consider how best to depict notions of visibility for those seen as the ‘other’ and allow me to further challenge myself in new ways.

"Although most of my exhibitions are in London and I have recently been elected as a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, I live and work in Dartford, Kent which is distinctively isolated in terms of art networks so having the opportunity to build new connections is also something I am keen to capitalise on."

What conversations, thoughts or feelings do you hope to encourage amongst your audiences during your residency? 

"The larger ambition of my practice, since the start of my career, has been focused on how I can use my work as a vehicle to contribute to making meaningful change to empower marginalised groups. During the residency I want to question any preconceived notions that I or the viewer may have apropos to what it means to be British and confront uncomfortable nuances that are associated with this.

"I strive to create work that challenges largely accepted neatly packaged revisionist narratives, specifically regarding the omitted representation of people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Addressing such instances of historical whitewashing is imperative within my work."