The Land, The Lens, The Language: eL Seed and Hassan Hajjaj Reunite Under the Olive Trees

In Gabès, beneath the wide sky and among the ancient olive groves, two visual languages meet again. The work of Hassan Hajjaj and eL Seed—who both grace JDEED's latest cover—returns in dialogue, this time through an open-air photo exhibition that folds art, land, and memory into one moment.

As part of the 7th edition of Gabès Cinéma Fen, Tacapae, the art-and-agriculture project founded by eL Seed, unveils a rare encounter between photography and place. From April 27 to May 1, visitors are invited to walk the tall grass of the Temoula olive grove and witness Hassan Hajjaj’s latest body of work: portraits captured during Tacapae’s first harvest gathering.

Shot on-site, Hajjaj's photographs document the rhythm of communal living: women cultivators, visiting artists, sun-dappled conversations between fig trees. The grove becomes more than a setting—it becomes a frame. Colorful, spontaneous, and compositionally bold, the images pulse with the kind of real-world vibrancy only Hajjaj knows how to pin down. His work speaks of both tradition and remix culture, of Morocco and London, of the medina and the street corner.

Curated with a sense of care and rootedness, the exhibition also echoes Tacapae’s mission: to treat land not just as resource, but as co-creator. Here, the site isn’t incidental—it’s sacred. The same soil that yields olive oil now yields art.

JDEED is proud to be part of this landscape, with Issue 11 available to read on-site during the exhibition. It’s a fitting homecoming—two of our most iconic collaborators, reunited under the trees, their work in conversation once again.

In a time where art often feels divorced from place, The Tacapae x Hajjaj exhibition reminds us: some stories can only be told outside gallery walls—beneath the open sky, surrounded by what grows.

The Tacapae x Hassan Hajjaj exhibition is happening during the Gabès Cinéma Fen festival, from April 27 to May 1, 2025.