Michael Najjar

Michael Najjar is a German photographer, adventurer and future astronaut. He was born 1966 in Landau, Germany. Since 1988, he has lived and worked in Berlin.

Najjar attended the bildo Academy of Arts in Berlin from 1988 – 1993, where he was trained intensively in conceptional and interdisciplinary art practices. During this time he got in touch with media philosophers such as Vilém Flusser, Paul Virilio and Jean Baudrillard, which have had a strong influence on his later work. The marked global outlook shown in his art is colored by his life and work in Brazil, Cuba, Spain, England, Japan and the United States. Najjar currently works on a new series entitled “outer space“, which is dedicated to the latest developments in space technologies. He is one of Virgin Galactic´s Pioneer Astronauts and will be the first artist in space.

Michael Najjar belongs to the contemporary artistic vanguard taking a critical look at the technological forces shaping the 21st century. In his photo and video works Najjar approaches art with an interdisciplinary mindset, transmuting the fields of science, art, and technology into visions and utopias of future social structures emerging under the impact of cutting-edge technologies. In his considered approach to the means and possibilities of photography, Najjar's conceptual work magnifies and re-examines the potential of the photographic image by a constant reconstruction of time and space using a wide range of techniques in thematically focused series. His pictorial language of form and content guides the view into a complex construction of simulated reality. Along this, the performative aspect of his artistic practice has shifted more into focus, since he has decided to become an astronaut and fly into space on board a new spaceship. He now uses his own body for performative action putting himself in highly complex technical environments.

Michael Najjar's work series "netropolis" (2003–2006) is an exploration of the way global cities will develop in the future. Najjar travelled around the globe and climbed – often evading the security guards - the highest towers of twelve megacities. His panoramic view transforms the reality of urban spatial structure into landscape. The digital fusion of panoramic views taken from different angles transforms the landscape into a woven fabric of relationships. The work shows the endless ocean of information, an all pervasive network. A compression of space and time evoking intense and constantly growing global interconnectivity.

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