French-Moroccan Artist Mehdi-Georges Lahlou Dons Heels to Stir Religious Debate

BLOUIN | ARTINFO
By Nicolai Hartvig

"72 Vierges" (2012) by Mehdi-Georges Lahlou (b. Morocco)

BRUSSELS---The 29-year-old French-Moroccan artist Mehdi-Georges Lahlou has had an eventful early career. The two 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. “I’m not an activist shouting. I am truly respectful of religions and beliefs, except when they kill or hurt people,” Lahlou explains. Lahlou was born in a seaside town on France’s Atlantic coast to a Muslim father, a jeweler, and a Catholic mother, a flamenco dancer. [link]