Princess Hijab

Princess Hijab is an anonymous female[1] street artist working primarily in Paris, France. Her art centres on veiling the main characters of subway advertisements using black paint.[2][3]

A sample from Princess Hijab's Dolche series

Anonymity

Few facts are known about Princess Hijab.

Work
Guerrilla art is innocent and criminal,
ancient and dystopian, intimate and
political. I chose the veil because it
does what art should do: It challenges,
it frightens, and it re-imagines[4]
- Princess Hijab

Princess Hijab is recognized as the founder of "hijabism", a movement based on the "hijabizing" or "hijabization" of advertising images; effectively the painting of veils or hijabs over images of models to make it seem like the model is wearing a veil.[2] As such, she is recognized for her images of veiled girls, boys and courting couples on advertising posters.[5]

One of her works, Diam’s Ma France à Moi, is the portrait of the famous French rapper Diam's, covered with a veil using a black marker pen.

Other works by Princess Hijab include the Lafayette series, depicting a model promoting the French department store Galeries Lafayette, wearing a blue, white and red striped top and a black mask over her mouth, and the Dolche series, a series of Dolce & Gabbana adverts representing male models hijabized by the artist.

Media appearances

Though the artist has rarely appeared in mainstream media, she is featured in the Banksy-produced The Antics Roadshow (the name of which parodies the Antiques Roadshow). The artist appeared in a bright, feathered, Carnivale-style costume "hijabizing" models in various fashion industry advertisements at Paris metro train stations. The documentary suggested the artist's work was primarily a protest against French Government efforts to ban the burqa in public[1] though the artist herself has denied this.[6]

References
  1. Princess Hijab Featured on Banksy’s Antics Roadshow (Lomography Magazine, 18 August 2011)
  2. Cornered – Princess Hijab, Paris's elusive graffiti artist by Angelique Chrisafis (The Guardian, 11 November 2010)
  3. Grace, Janelle (2010-08-06). "Peeking Behind the Veil: Princess Hijab". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  4. "Putting on the Veil". Good.is. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  5. Princess Hijab: underground resistance (The Guardian, 11 November 2010) [image gallery]
  6. Rare interview with urban artist Princess Hijab by Matilda Battersby (The Independent, 16 June 2011)
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