Control: Mohamed Bourouissa’s disarming portrait of Alek Wek

Algerian-French photographer Mohamed Bourouissa’s oeuvre is fundamentally concerned with confrontation. As an artist who navigates the complexities of the French banlieues, he draws upon the visual language of both contemporary street reportage and historical painting traditions. His Périphérique series, for instance, merges these forms to depict scenes from Parisian suburbs, where immigrants and ethnic minorities – most frequently from the former French Arab and African colonies – are often caught in the web of socio-economic tension and exclusion. 

Originally published in Dazed MENA Issue 01| Order Here

Bourouissa’s approach, however, is far from sensationalising these communities. Instead, he manipulates the aesthetics of grand historical representations, using the language of traditional European art to capture the everyday lives of those who are too often rendered invisible in the mainstream cultural narrative. Working within staged photography, his art challenges preconceived notions of what is considered significant, forcing the viewer to grapple with their own biases, often dismantling the presuppositions they may bring to the table. 

Meanwhile, Alek Wek’s presence in the fashion world has long been shaped by an awareness of how spectacle (very viscerally so, as a fashion model) functions as a tool of self-presentation and mechanism of societal power. The supermodel’s own rise to prominence in the 90s marked the arrival of an entirely new iconography in the world of haute couture. The young South Sudanese refugee’s striking beauty was not only a powerful contrast to the prevailing Eurocentric standards of the fashion industry, but also an embodiment of an alternative, more cosmopolitan concept of beauty. Now collaborating for the first time, Wek and Bourouissa engage in a collective exploration of spectacle that intertwines their respective practices into a melange of cultural commentary.

Both individuals navigate the delicate interplay between individual identity and collective representation. Their partnership is not just about capturing beauty, but challenging the very structures that define what is deemed beautiful and significant, too (essentially who is worthy of possessing attraction and desire in a world fixated on viewing le monde d’esthétique through the eyes of the Global North). The resulting imagery is not only about aesthetic allure, but also making visible the complex truths of our cultural moment—truths that demand to be seen, understood, and most critically and hastily redefined. As we look at their work, we are reminded that the images we create – whether in the streets, on the catwalks, or in the galleries – are never neutral. Rather, they are always deeply embedded in the politics of identity, culture, and the power structures within which we all exist.

Originally published in Dazed MENA Issue 01| Order Here

Model ALEK WEK, casting director MISCHA NOTCUTT, creative producer FATIMA MOURAD, hair stylist YANN TURCHI, make-up artist MAELYS JALLALI, manicurist LUDOVIC CADEO, on-site producer JASMIN NAHAR, digital operator REBECCA LIÈVRE, 1st lighting assistant ETIENNE OLIVEAU, 2nd lighting assistant EMMA LOPEZ, styling assistants KILLIAN GRALL, JUSTINE DOMÉJEAN, VICTOR PELENDA