Saatchi Gallery presents the photography of Jamel Shabazz, Joseph Rodriguez and Gregory Bojorquez in HIP HOP – Living a Dream, chronicling the rise and global impact of American Hip Hop culture.
London, UK (June 2025) – Saatchi Gallery presents HIP HOP – Living a Dream, an exhibition showcasing the work of renowned photographers Jamel Shabazz (b. 1960), Joseph Rodriguez (b. 1951), and Gregory Bojorquez (b. 1972). From the early 1980s on, each of these three American chroniclers provides distinct insights into the rise and global impact of American Hip Hop culture. HIP HOP – Living a Dream delves into the lifestyle that, in combination with music, graffiti, breakdancing, and fashion, evolved into a worldwide phenomenon – from the streets of 1980s New York to Los Angeles, the Southern United States, Europe, and beyond, persisting into the present day.
Jamel Shabazz’s work from the 1980s serves as both a personal visual diary and a historical document, capturing the birth of the Hip Hop movement in the vibrant metropolis of New York City. Shabazz’s portraits embody the zeitgeist of New York, illustrating a pivotal era of music, fashion, and art. Jamel was stationed in the US Army in Germany when he heard one of the first major Hip Hop groups, Positive Force, debut their 1979 hit song “We Got the Funk”. His love for the genre is manifested in the images he would produce over the decades. The first of many Hip Hop artists he photographed were LL Cool J, and Public Enemy. Today, his portraits are synonymous with the movement itself.
In his series East Side Stories – Gang Life in East L.A., Brooklyn-born photographer Joseph Rodriguez provides a documentary-style look at gang culture during the 1990s. His work portrays the lived experiences, nuances, and harsh realities of gang life. According to Rodriguez, “My interest in going to L.A. began in early 1992. I was strongly influenced by the Hip Hop coming out of the streets of Los Angeles and other cities across the country. These youth were rapping about the very important issues in their communities. Their music were like the newspapers of the streets.” In addition to his documentation of American Hip Hop on both the West and East Coast, Rodriguez’s portraits of groups in Sweden point to the many facets of international forms of Hip Hop and its prevalence in cities beyond New York, such as Los Angeles and New Orleans, where Rodriguez documented notable figures Master P and the No Limit Crew.
Los Angeles native Gregory Bojorquez has been documenting the Hip Hop scene since the 1990s: “Before I started photographing it, I was a fan of L.A. Hip Hop. The first things I photographed in Hip Hop were underground Hip Hop shows. Some were promoted by Orlando and Bigga B. Those shows were called Unity. Some artists they featured were Wu Tang affiliated artists, Goodie Mob, Big Pun. Sway & Tech had the Wake up Shows reunions. Some acts were OutKast, Gang Star, Pharoahe Monch and the legendary freestyle battle between Supernatural & Juice.” His works also feature Snoop Dogg & Tha Dogg Pound (DPG), 50 Cent, Eminem, DMX, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Mos Def, Swizz Beatz, and Ice Cube.
Like Hip Hop itself, the three photographers Shabazz, Rodriguez, and Bojorquez have garnered international acclaim, reaching audiences far beyond the United States. Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are part of esteemed collections worldwide, including the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC); the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation (Frankfurt am Main), the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), and the Gordon Parks Foundation in New York. Gregory Bojorquez’s works have been exhibited at the Vincent Price Art Museum in Los Angeles and internationally in Cologne, Berlin, and other locations. Joseph Rodriguez’s photographs are housed in institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum, the International Center of Photography in New York, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, Museum Ludwig in Cologne, and the Albertina in Vienna.
This exhibition is produced with Galerie Bene Taschen.
NOTES TO EDITORS
For all press enquiries, please contact:
Niamh Elain, Marketing & Press Executive - niamh.e@saatchigallery.com
Dates open to the public: 31 July – 11 September 2025
Location in the gallery: Galleries 3 & 4
Admission: Free entry, pre-booking not required.
About Galerie Bene Taschen
Founded in 2011 in Cologne, Galerie Bene Taschen represents some of the world's leading artists in contemporary photography and painting. The gallery is committed to promoting its international artists through regular participation in major art fairs such as Paris Photo and Art Cologne, as well as a comprehensive exhibition program. In 2011, the gallery made its debut with LA photographer Gregory Bojorquez; in 2013, it began working with Joseph Rodriguez from New York. In 2014, the acclaimed Berlin-based photographer Miron Zownir joined the gallery’s program. American photographers Jamel Shabazz and Arlene Gottfried from New York also joined in 2015. Since autumn 2017, the gallery has been pleased to represent the New York-based photographer Jeff Mermelstein and the German painter Charlotte Trossbach, and since the autumn/winter of 2019, it has been working with the renowned photographers Sebastião Salgado and Larry Fink. Most recently, Donnie Molls from Los Angeles and Prague-born artist Josef Achrer have joined the gallery.
Lindenstr. 19, 50674 Cologne, Germany
About Saatchi Gallery
Since 1985, Saatchi Gallery has provided an innovative platform for contemporary art. Exhibitions have presented works by largely unseen young artists, or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK. This approach has made the Gallery one of the most recognised names in contemporary art. Since moving to its current 70,000 square feet space in the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea, London, the Gallery has welcomed over 10 million visitors. The Gallery hosts thousands of school visits annually and has over 6 million followers on social media. In 2019 Saatchi Gallery became a registered charity, beginning a new chapter in its history.
Registered Charity Number: 1182328 | Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, London SW3 4RY
