Michael Najjar: Space Exploration
Artist, explorer and future astronaut, Michael Najjar combines Art, science and technology to address contemporary issues and transformations. His work, which includes photography, video, digital creation and sculpture, addresses themes such as space exploration, artificial intelligence, climate change, biogenetics and the impact of technology on humanity. His creations, visually striking and conceptually profound, invite reflection on the relationship between reality and simulation.
Michael Najjar stood out for his physical and mental commitment: he underwent astronaut training with Virgin Galactic, including sessions in weightlessness and on a centrifuge, aiming to become the first artist to travel into space. Its iconic series, such as Outer Space et Cool Earthexplore the future of humanity in space and highlight the need to preserve our planet.
His works have been exhibited at prestigious institutions around the world, including the Saatchi Gallery in London, the ZKM Karlsruhe, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul. They also appear in numerous museum and private collections.
Site web : www.michaelnajjar.com
Instagram : studio_michaelnajjar
Actualitand :
Michael Najjar is currently exhibiting at Photographic Stockholm : SPACE – A Visual Journey (until’as of March 2, 2025).
Expositions et collaborations has come :
- PAN Amsterdam with ARTITLEDcontemporary : A renowned art fair, from November 24 to December 1, 2024, dedicated to contemporary art, modern design and antiques
- Horizonte and Lyou have au Caixa Forum Sevilla : An exhibition planned for early 2025, exploring conceptual limits and new perspectives.
- Art Basel Miami Beach with BANK : One of the most prestigious art fairs in the world, in December 2024, highlighting Najjar among other renowned artists.
- Civilization – The Way We Live Now to the Kunsthalle Munich : Scheduled for spring 2025, this group exhibition explores the complexity of contemporary society through multidimensional works, including those by Najjar.
Your first dieclphotographic ic?
Mikael Najjar: A Polaroid SX-70 that I got when I was 14.
L’man or woman’image that inspired you ?
M.N. : Stanley Kubrick.
L’image that you would have liked to take?
MN: The Apollo 11 launch.
The one that pleased you the mostin ?
MN: The first photo I took of my son after his birth.
And the one who put you in collarAndre ?
MN: No idea.
Which photo changed the world?
M.N. : Earth Rise the William Anders (Apollo 8).
And which photo changed your world?
MN: The same.
What’What interests you most in an image?
MN: The invisible parts.
What is the lastAndWhat photo did you take?
MN: Let’s say the last “relevant” one: huge icebergs melting in Greenland.
A key image in your personal pantheon?
M.N. : Pale Blue Dottaken by the Voyager I probe at a distance of approximately 6 billion kilometers from Earth.
A photographic memory from your childhood?
MN: I can’t name one, because I don’t know if they are real memories or photographic memories.
What do you think is the quality? nnecessary for ehbe a good photographer?
MN: Knowing how to reconstruct the relationship between space and time.
What’what makes a good photo?
MN: Reduce visual content to the essentials.
The person you would like to photograph?
MN: Jean-Paul Belmondo with Alain Delon.
An essential photo book?
MN: My new book Outer Space v2.
L’camera from your childhood?
M.N. : Canon AE-1.
The one you use today’hui ?
M.N. : Hasselblad H6D.
How do you choose your projects?
MN: Out of curiosity and passion for the subject.
How would you describe your creative process?
MN: Read – think – create – photograph – reconstruct digitally – print in large format.
A project has come who holds you to cœur ?
MN: My retrospective exhibition at the Shanghai Glass Museum in November 2025.
Your drug prefandrande ?
MN: Adventure travel.
The best way to disconnect for you?
MN: Spending hours fighting on a tennis court.
Your personal relationship to l’image ?
MN: I like the oscillation between reality and simulation.
Who would you like ehbe photographed ?
M.N. : Nick Knight.
Your lastAndre folie ?
MN: Jumping (almost) naked into the Arctic Ocean.
An image to illustrate a new bank note?
MN: My work Starbasewhich shows the Starship launch pad at night. It’s the most futuristic place on Earth.
If you’hadn’t beenteh photographer?
MN: I would have been a 16th century explorer.
The job you do’wouldn’t have liked to do?
MN: No idea.
Your biggest professional extravaganza?
MN: Going to space with Virgin Galactic.
What question could destabilize you?
MN: If I tell you, people will ask me in the next interview.
What is the lastAndre thing you did for the firstAndagain?
MN: Walking on the Greenland ice cap.
The city, country or culture you rehtime of ddiscover?
MN: The Moon.
The place you never get tired of?
MN: The tennis court.
Your biggest regret?
MN: Not buying Apple stock when I was a student.
But assessmentAndre social networks, ehdo you likeUmbrellat Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or Twitter and why?
MN: Instagram is already time-consuming enough.
Color or black and white?
MN: Both. However, before switching to digital, I loved working with black and white film.
Lightre natural or artificial?
MN: It really depends on the subject, I work both indoors and outdoors.
Which city seems the most photogenic to you?
MN: Singapore.
If God existed, would you ask him to pose for you or would you opt for a selfie with him?
MN: I would ask him to disappear immediately.
If I could organize your dyesterday idéal, which would be has table ?
MN: Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, William Gibson, Vilém Flusser et Elon Musk.
L’image that represents for you the current state of the world?
MN: My work Arctic Elegy – a once stable system is transforming and collapsing.
According to you, what’what is missing in today’s world?
MN: A positive and visionary look at the future.
If you had to start all over again?
MN: I would do exactly the same thing.
What’would you like that’what do we say about you?
MN: He created an image that changed my view of the world.
An essential thing has know about you?
MN: I’m an early riser, I love being in my studio at 7am creating new work.
Any last words?
MN: No, this interview was already way too long
