Work (selection)
Michael Najjar is a highly regarded photo artist of his generation. Najjar's photographic and video works exemplify and draw on his interdisciplinary understanding of art. In his artistic practice he fuses art, science, and technology into visions of future social structures emerging under the impact of cutting-edge technologies. [8]
Najjar's work is grouped in thematic series. His multidimensional practice frequently leads him to cross-field collaborations with scientists, researchers, and engineers. The variety of themes covered ranges from transformation of global megacities through compaction of information networks ("netropolis" 2003-2006 / 2016 ongoing), depictions of the human body transformed by biogenetic intervention ("bionic angel" 2006-2008) [9] and virtualization of financial markets with smart algorithms ("high altitude" 2008-2010) to the future of the human species through space exploration ("outer space" since 2011). Since 2021 Michael Najjar works on a new series entitled "cool earth", which explores the future of our planet in times of climate change and focusses on the topic of the Anthropocene, climate engineering and the relationship between humans and nature.
The performative aspect has also become a fundamental part of Najjar's work process. One essential hallmark of Najjar's work is the way it is deeply informed by an experiential hands-on approach. The intimate experience of "living through" situations, which provide the leitmotifs of his art is vital to the artist. [10] For decades now, Najjar has undertaken journeys and expeditions around the globe. His projects often stem from remote fieldwork in liminal locations, often difficult to access. He has climbed seven-thousand-metre peaks, scaled skyscrapers, trekked active volcanoes, crossed glaciers, descended into ice caves, traversed deserts, and undergone intensive astronaut training – with the aim of becoming the first artist to travel into space. To create his images, Najjar exposes his body to extreme conditions, pushing his mental and physical limits in the context of challenging natural or technological environments.
cool earth
Michael Najjar's latest work series "cool earth" (2021 ongoing) deals with our planetary future in times of climate change as well as with the role of new climate technologies. It addresses the far-reaching ecological, economic and cultural impact of human-induced climate change, which leads to a fundamental redefinition of the relationship between humans and nature. [11] In the new epoch of the Anthropocene, humans have become the major transformative force in the Earth system, which is increasingly reaching its limits. Humans are now altering nature for hundreds of thousands of years into the future; the natural environment is being transformed into post-natural landscapes, the technosphere envelops our planet and is expanding increasingly into outer space. The synthesis of the technical and the natural will be decisive for the future of our planet.
In view of the dramatic consequences of climate change for future generations, technical, aesthetic, and cultural new perspectives are needed. Topics such as geoengineering, weather manipulation, terraforming, satellite-based Earth observation, biophilic architecture, new energy sources and transport systems, as well as urban future designs, are at the center of the "cool earth" series. It raises the question of if and to what extent technologies can help us shape the planetary future — and what price we will have to pay for it. Scientists are increasingly discussing the possibilities of large-scale technical interventions in the natural Earth systems, known as climate engineering: targeted technical interventions in the Earth’s geo- and biochemical cycles, the oceans, soils, and atmosphere. [12]
The "cool earth" series spans the arc from a looming dystopian future — which has already arrived in the present — to a technology-based, decarbonized, post-fossil world. The works act as a resonance body that connects scientific knowledge and technological utopias with aesthetic construction. The images and video works open up a field of thought of possible futures — designs of a livable, post-destructive world within our planetary boundaries.
outer space
Michael Najjar's work series "outer space" looks at the latest developments in space research and their far-reaching impact on life on Earth, in near-Earth orbit, on the Moon, and other celestial bodies. [13] In recent years, technological innovation has led to a dynamic expansion of human activity in outer space. This evolution brings civilizational, ethical, and geopolitical questions into focus, demanding a new discourse on humanity’s expansion beyond our home planet.
The cultural dimension represented by emerging cutting-edge space technologies is at the center of Najjars's work – in terms of the deeper knowledge these new technologies will provide about the universe, their impact on space travel and the way they will influence and shape the way we live and work on Earth. [14] This ongoing series started in 2011 with the final launch of the American Space Shuttle Atlantis [15] and currently includes 72 photographic artworks and 5 video works. The artist has visited the most important space centers, like the Kennedy Space Center and Starbase in the US, Star City in Russia, the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, and the German Aerospace Center. In close dialogue with scientists, engineers, and astronauts, he gained access to global research facilities developing next-generation spacecraft, rockets, satellites, and telescopes.
In Chile's Atacama Desert, he photographed some of the world’s most powerful telescopes, perched on remote Andean plateaus. In China, he documented the world’s largest radio telescope, hidden deep in the forest. In Iceland, he explored the concept of terraforming through his lens. At Starbase in Texas, he captured the first test flight of the revolutionary Starship; in the White Sands desert, he photographed Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane. At NASA, he portrayed the legendary James Webb Space Telescope during its early development, and at the Human Robotics Center in Edinburgh, he focused on future humanoid Mars robots. On Svalbard in the High Arctic, he visited the world’s northernmost satellite station; in New Zealand, he descended into the crater of an active volcano; in Switzerland, he gained access to the world’s largest particle accelerator at CERN. He is currently documenting the mission of the latest exoplanet finder in Germany and the Netherlands.
Through long-term collaborations with leading scientists, engineers, and space agencies, Najjar has been granted privileged access to locations typically closed to the public. In this series, he blends documentary and fictional scenarios to create visionary depictions of current and future space exploration.
As one of Virgin Galactic's pioneering astronauts, Michael Najjar will take part in one of the future space flights on board the VSS Unity and will most likely be the first artist to travel into space. [16]
In preparation for this flight, Najjar underwent an intensive astronaut training program at Star City (GCTC), [17] Russia, at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the National AeroSpace Training And Research Center (NASTAR) in the US. [18] Pushing both mental and physical limits, he subjected himself to a demanding series of training modules: a stratospheric flight in a MiG-29 jet fighter, [19] zero gravity flights, high-G centrifuge tests, underwater training in a space suit, and a HALO parachute jump from 10,000 meters. The photographic and video material collected during these extreme experiences often forms the basis of his later image compositions. [20]
Najjar's "outer space" series also includes a compilation of contemporary visions of future life and work in space. These visions, inherent in the actual artworks, were commissioned by the artist and formulated in a series of 'vision statements' written by leading figures in space exploration, science, architecture and philosophy, including Buzz Aldrin, Richard Branson, Tim Smit, Michael Lopez-Alegria, Anousheh Ansari, Norman Foster, and Stephen Hawking. [21]
Works from the "outer space" series have been exhibited internationally in numerous museums, biennials and galleries. In 2017, the series was nominated for the prestigious Prix Pictet. Two comprehensive publications on the series were published by the publisher DISTANZ Verlag, Berlin, in 2014 and 2021. In addition, Michael Najjar published "Planetary Echoes" with Spector Books—a collection of essays on the future colonization of our solar system. The work has been widely covered in numerous articles. The “outer space” series is ongoing and expands by three to four new works each year.
netropolis
The series "netropolis" moves the aesthetic exploration of the megacity into the 21st century. [22] Najjar traveled around the globe and climbed – often evading the security guards – the highest towers of twelve megacities. At first glance, these large-format black-and-white photographs show a panoramic view of the city, combining all four cardinal directions in a single image. The high angle and bird's-eye view transform the vastness of the city into an abstract landscape, while the reduction of the high horizon to a narrow strip tilts the image into a horizontal plane. At the same time, however, the picture forces viewer’s to continually switch perspectives between near and far, between micro and macrostructures, since the vibrant nature of the city is grounded in the correlation between closeness and distance.
The result is an interwoven texture that exhibits expansions, compressions and reconstructions of time and space, which Najjar conceptualises as allegories of the abstract infinite data horizon of our megacities.
In these works, Najjar is not primarily concerned with the spatial perception of specific topographies, but rather with urban living and activity spaces and their overlap with technical and virtual fluid space. Thus, the electronic topography of our megacities also implies the disappearance of space and time, as acceleration – this dominant dimension of our world – increasingly reduces urban structures and their entire social fabric to data noise.
Michael Najjar worked on "netropolis“ between 2003 and 2006, and returned to the series in 2016. The series currently portrays the megacities of New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, São Paulo, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Paris, Dubai, London, and Berlin. More cities will follow.
high altitude
For "high altitude" (2008–2010), Michael Najjar climbed Mount Aconcagua, at 6,962 meters (22,841 feet) the highest mountain outside of Asia. In the Andes, Najjar photographed mountain ridges whose zigzag lines served as a symbol of the monumentality of financial markets. [23] The photographs he took on the expedition were strictly based on the fluctuations of international stock market indices. [24] The images show the highs and lows of the markets and how market reality and simulation are so intertwined that they are almost indistinguishable. The movements of the tectonic plates of the global economy over the last twenty to thirty years become visible, during which new peaks emerge and earthquakes and erosion are inevitable. Najjar shows the sublime at a time when information technology has become all-powerful. [25]
Projects Studio Michael Najjar
In October 2015, Studio Michael Najjar unveiled the world's first futuristic "Space Suite" at the Kameha Grand Zurich, Switzerland. [26] In 2016, the "Space Suite" by Studio Michael Najjar was a finalist for the European Hotel Design Award for the best new Hotel Suite in Europe. [27]
In cooperation with the Michael Stich Foundation, Michael Najjar designed an entire floor for the UKE – Clinic for Pediatric Medicine in Hamburg. The creative concept is based on his "outer space" series.
Books and catalogues
Klap, Roosje & Wevers, Rosa (eds.): "Noorderlicht. Machine Entanglements“, 30th Nooderlicht International Photo Biennale, Groningen, The Netherlands, 2025
Diederen, Roger & Ewing, William A.; Kirchberger, Stefan; Stöhr, Franziska (eds.): "CIVILIZATION. Wie Wir Heute Leben. Das Magazin zur Ausstellung", Munich, Germany, 2025
ArtScience Museum (ed.): "Mars: The Red Mirror", Singapore, 2024
Rau, Bodo & Kunsthalle Bahnitz (eds.): "Schöne Aussichten", Bahnitz, Germany, 2024
PHOTO 2024 (ed.): "The Future Is Shaped by Those Who Can See It. PHOTO 2024", Melbourne, Australia, 2024
Fundació "la Caixa" (ed.): "Horizonte y Limite. Visiones del Paisaje", Madrid, Spain, 2023
Najjar, Michael, Galería Juan Silió (Hg./eds.): "Michael Najjar - cool earth", ex. cat. Madrid, Spain, 2023
Beitin, Andreas, Klose, Alexander, Steininger, Benjamin (Hg./eds.): "Oil. Schönheit und Schrecken des Erdölzeitalters", Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, ex. cat. Cologne, Germany, 2021
Najjar, Michael (Hg./eds.): "outer space – v2", Distanz Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2021
Beatrice, Luca (Hg./eds.): "FUTURO – Arte e società dagli anni Sessanta a domani, Gallerie d'Italia – Palazzo Leoni Montanari", ex.cat. Vincenza, Italy, 2020
Vanhanen, Hannu (Hg./eds.): "Space Works - Our Relationship With the Cosmos", ex.cat.Tampere Art Museum, Tampere, USA, 2020
Feireiss, Lukas (Hg./ed.): "Space is ... the Place", Leipzig, Germany, 2020
Bollmann, Philipp (Hg./ed.): "Mit geliehenen Augen", Bielefeld, Germany, 2020
Innovationsfabrik Wittenstein (Hg./ed.): "Beyond the Horizon", ex.cat. Innovationsfabrik Wittenstein, Igersheim, Germany, 2019
Rau, Bodo (Hg./ed.), "Über Grenzen", ex.cat. Kunsthof Bahnitz, Bahnitz, Germany, 2019
Brenner, Neil (Hg./ed.), "New urban Spaces", New York, USA, 2019
Ewing, William A. & Roussel, Holly (Hg./eds.), "Civilization – The Way We Live Now", ex.cat. London, UK, 2018
Bollmann, Philipp (Hg./ed.), "Sichtspiele – Filme und Videokunst aus der Sammlung Wemhöner", Berlin, Germany, 2018
Feireiss, Lukas (ed.), Najjar Michael (ed.), "Planetary Echoes. Exploring the implications of human settlement in space", Leipzig, Germany, 2017
Najjar, Michael (ed.) "outer space", Distanz Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2014
Bollmann, Philipp (ed.): "In-Sight - Photographs from the Wemhöner Collection", Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld, Germany, 2012
Najjar, Michael (ed.): "high altitude" Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld, Germany, 2011
Bollmann, Philipp (ed.): "Focus Asia - Einblicke in die Sammlung Wemhöner" Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld, Germany, 2011
Kolczynska, Paulina "Identity, or on a variety of perspectives" in: "Identity - Photographs of the Grazyna Kulczyk Collection" ex. cat., Poznan, Poland, 2011
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (ed.): "Portraits in series - a century of photographs" ex. cat., Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld, Germany, 2011
Rau, Bodo (Ed.): "Architektur in der Kunst - Architekturen des Augenblicks" ex. cat., Bahnitz, Germany, 2011
Herschdorfer, Nathalie (ed.): "High altitude - Photography in the mountains" ex. cat., 5 continents editions, Milan, Italy, 2011
Melis, Wim (ed.): "metropolis" Stichting Aurora Borealis, Photo Festival, Groningen, Netherlands, 2011
Klanten, Robert / Ehmann, Sven / Schulze, Floyd (eds.): "Visual storytelling: inspiring a new visual language" Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2011
Damian, Angela / Azoulay, Elizabeth / Frioux, Dalibor (eds.): "100.000 years of beauty" Editions Babylone, Paris, France, 2010
Klanten, Robert / Ehmann, Sven / Bourquin, Nicolas (eds.): "data flow 2" Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2010
Klanten, Robert / Feireiss, Lukas (eds.): "Beyond architecture. Imaginative buildings and fictional cities" Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2009
Kerner, Charlotte (ed.): "next generation" Belz & Gelberg, Weinheim, Germany, 2009
Sasse, Julie (ed.): "Trouble in paradise: examining the discord between nature and society" ex. cat., Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, USA, 2009
Edgar Quadt (ed.): "Artinvestor - Wie man erfolgreich in Kunst investiert" Finanzbuch Verlag, Munich, Germany, 2008
van Sinderen, Wim (ed.): "Augmented realities - Michael Najjar works 1997-2008" ex. cat., GEM - The Hague Museum of Photography Veenman Publishers, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2008
Miha, Andy (ed.): "Human futures: art in an age of uncertainty" Fact & Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, UK, 2008
Bitforms Gallery / Galería Juan Silió / Najjar, Michael (Ed.): "bionic angel" Berlin, Germany, 2008
Scarpato, Rosario / Piccioni, Monica (eds.): "Map games: dynamics of change" ex. cat., Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 2008
Es Baluard, Museu d'Art Modern i Contemporani de Palma (ed.): "en privat1" ex. cat., Museo Es Baluard, Palma, Spain, 2008
Sacks, Steve (ed.): "bitforms gallery" bitforms gallery, New York, USA, 2008
Explorafoto y Fundación Salamanca Ciudad de Cultura (ed.): "Michael Najjar - information and apocalypse" ex. cat., DA2, Domus Artium 2002, Salamanca, Spain, 2007
Ewing, William (ed.): "Face - the new photographic portrait" Thames & Hudson, London, UK, 2006
Herrera, Nelson (ed.): "9th Havana Biennal 2006" ex. cat., Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam Havana, Cuba, 2006
Sanz, Antonio (ed.): "C on cities" ex. cat., 10. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura La Biennale di Venezia, Italy, 2006
Panera, Javier (ed.): "Mascaradas politicas" Explorafoto - Festival Internacional de Fotografía de Castilla y León. ex. cat., DA2, Domus Artium 2002, Salamanca, Spain, 2006
Himmelsbach, Sabine (ed.): "Sichtbarkeiten" ex. cat., Edith-Ruß-Site for Media Art, Oldenburg, Germany, 2006
Bitforms / Juan Silió / Guy Bärtschi / Najjar, Michael (eds.): "netropolis" Berlin, Germany, 2006
Najjar, Michael (ed.): "japanese style" ex. cat., Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, Germany, 2005
Mellis, Wim (ed.): "traces and omens" Stichting Aurora Borealis, Photo Festival, Groningen, Netherlands, 2005
Szeemann, Harald (ed.): "The beauty of failure / the failure of beauty" ex. cat., Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain, 2004
Kemp, Sandra (ed.): "Future face - image, identity, innovation" Profile books Ltd. ex. cat., Science Museum London, London, UK, 2004
bitforms gallery / Najjar, Michael (eds.): "netropolis" Berlin, Germany, 2004
Felix, Zdenek (ed.): "A clear vision. Photographische Werke aus der Sammlung F.C. Gundlach" Hatje Cantz Verlag, ex. cat., International House of Photography Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany, 2003
Goethe-Institut New York, Najjar, Michael (eds.): "Information and Apocalypse" ex. cat., Goethe-Institut New York Berlin, Germany, 2003
Triennale der Photographie Hamburg (ed.): "Reality-Check" ex. cat., 2. Triennale der Photographie, Hamburg, Germany, 2002
Philipp, Gabriele (ed.): "Mythos St.Pauli - Photographien 1967-2002" ex. cat., Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Bönnigheim, Germany, 2002
Klanten, Robert / Peyerl, Andreas (eds.): "Surreality localizer" Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 1997
