Before 2011, the Republic of Sudan was the largest country on the African continent, surrounded by many others. Bordered by Libya, Chad, Ethiopia, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya, it also shared with neighbouring Eritrea and Egypt the exit to the Red Sea, where, on the other side, winds from Mecca and breezes from Yemen blew.

Today it is a smaller state, divided into two parts, the Republic of Sudan to the north and the world’s youngest country, South Sudan, to the south.

Marred by ongoing internal disputes and conflicts, the Republic of Sudan has had an artistic life fraught with interruptions, whose artists try to sustain with resilience the identity of a Sudanese art. Consisting of a particular African-Arab hybridity.

The exhibition Disturbance in the Nile – Arte Moderna e Contemporânea do Sudão, at Brotéria (and curated by António Pinto Ribeiro and Rahiem Shadad) not only aims to offer us a portrait of a country’s “social, political, economic or religious reality”[1], but also to praise the work of its artists, recognising the importance of art[2] in Sudanese daily life, which, according to art critic Mohammed Abdelrahman[3], manifests its “diversity and multiplicity”[4].

The exhibition features examples of more recent art, the result of the latest events and changes in the country.

They are works by nine Sudanese artists, created during the exact period of the September 18, 2018 revolution[5].

The first contact with the gallery was made through Waleed Mohammed’s paintings.

Waleed, a young artist, only 23 years old, unveils oil and acrylic portraits on canvas with surprising mastery. Something Specialand Black people are dope, both from 2022, prove not only the realistic features of Waleed’s paintings, but also how the title of an artist’s work can be relevant to its appreciation. The strong magnetism of the female character sitting by a large bouquet of flowers resting on a small round table is emphasised by the mystery brought forth by the words of the title Something Special. By not revealing what is special about the figure, the title renders the work cryptic. Next to Something Special is Black People are Dope. Again the title reinforces the work’s message. Two men realistically portrayed against a clear, unambiguous blue background.

Mohamed A. Otaybi, a painter and illustrator born in 1948, presents pictorial works in acrylic on canvas, made between 2021 and 2022. With vibrant colours and a figurative style reminiscent of a narrative steeped in folk tales or everyday life. They testify to a deep understanding of volume and light, so prevalent in the modernist imagination of the 20th century, and now surfacing in the contemporary creative process of younger generations.

In this exhibition, Reem Al Jeally, an artist educated in architecture, shows a more social work. With acrylic paintings in intense colours, she presents “women and spaces”[6]. Jeally’s activity also includes curatorial work and promoting the careers of women artists in the Sudanese capital Khartoum[7].

Bakri Moaz presents acrylic works on canvas. In recent years, his proficiency has led him to have international exhibitions in Kassel, Germany, or Art4you, Dubai. With a studio in Khartoum, he develops a work on spirituality, “the divine” and the “search for truth”[8]. The human figures, in indigo colours contrasted with reddish or orange tones, appear static and steady, gazing into infinity, in a meditative state. Immortalised by the essence of being, in a place where time seems to be everyone’s privilege, and where it is possible to carry out a process of self-knowledge, or deal with life situations.

This exhibition also features works by Rashid Diab, an Arab-African artist and theorist. His work is of great importance, with themes on “African tradition and Western influence”[9]. An art scholar, he conducted studies in Spain. The paintings reveal the influence of this Iberian country on his work.

Miska Mohmmed, a Nairobi resident, reveals works from the Cidades Perdidas and Savannah series. The pieces made between 2021 and 2022 are mainly nocturnal urban landscapes, such as Abandoned, featured in the exhibition, or countryside landscapes, such as Harvest Season, expressing an interest in observing nature and the environment. This year, Mohmmed took part in the second edition of the African Abstraction Show at Montague Contemporary, New York.

Eltayeb Dawelbait, also living in Nairobi, shows inventive work based on recycled materials that he collects around the city.

His environmental awareness is also visible in the paints he uses. Dawelbait creates his own pigments from natural sources. The wooden boards he handles, covered by smaller ones, are painted in bright colours, showing scratches over the surface that resemble drawing, such is the amount of vibrant lines forming the faces.

Tariq Nasre, from Dongola, graduated in painting from the School of Fine and Applied Arts in Khartoum, but also works as a designer, illustrator and cartoonist for magazines and newspapers. He drew on traditional Sudanese art to find his textured and distinctive style.

Yasmeen Abdullah is a Sudanese artist who draws on Mahmoud’s poetic work to represent women in a “beautiful and powerful” way[10].

The long hair in Sê um herói neutro para sobreviver, 2021 reveals the power of femininity. And the works Não nos separámos, mas nunca nos encontraremos, 2022, or even Ele está calmo e eu também, 2022, are encounters and reunions, and more or less troubled relationships between man and woman.

Disturbance in The Nile is at Brotéria until July 28.

[1] Introductory text “Expandir a Imaginação”, by Brotéria Director General Father Francisco Mota SJ, featured in the exhibition catalogue “Disturbance in the Nile, Arte Moderna e Contemporânea do Sudão”, page 05, published by Brotéria, June 2023.

[2] Ibidem

[3] Dr. Mohammed Abdelrahman, Professor at the Faculty of Arts, Al-Neelain University, Sudan.

[4] “Arte, Caos e Memória” is a text by Dr. Mohammed Abdelrahman, professor at the Faculty of Arts, Al-Neelain University, Sudan, featured in the catalogue of the exhibition currently at the Brotéria exhibition hall. Page 09.

[5] Ibidem

[6] Reem Al Jeally’s Biography, in the Exhibition Catalogue of Disturbance in the Nile, published by Brotéria.

[7] Ibidem

[8] Ibidem

[9] Ibidem

[10] Ibidem