"Dedicated to the soul of my mother, Rugaia, and to all Sudanese mothers; reflecting the taste and color of our homeland's soil.إهداء إلى روح أُمي رُقيّة، ولكلّ الأمهات السودانيات طعم ولون تراب الوطن.
I was born in Marawi, northern Sudan, in Al Zouma village, at my grandmother Sitt Nour's house on a bend of the Nile. Here, the Nubian culture of farmers along the riverbank intertwines with the desert extending into Egypt. I remember the houses on hills and highlands, their white facades and the gentle sway of palm trees, all of which have woven themselves into the fabric of my memories. These images have resonated within me throughout my visits to that Nubian spot along the Nile, over three decades echoing in this exhibition.
الطار آلة إيقاعية تُصنع من جلد الغنم الطري، وتُشَد على خشب له مقاسات متنوعة. توجد في الشريط النيلي النوبي الممتد من السودان إلى مصر، تُضرب عليه الإيقاعات النوبيَّة، وامتدّ ليصبح آلة المديح النبوي الأساسيّة كما في تجربة أولاد حاج الماحي العريقة. استخدمها الموسيقار النوبي العالمي حمزة علاء الدين وقدَّم بها الإيقاعات النوبية
Issam Hafiez is a Sudanese painter, photographer, and graphic designer whose practice centers on painting as a primary means of exploring memory, identity, and lived experience. His work is distinguished by expressive mark-making and a material-driven approach that pushes the boundaries of paint, creating surfaces charged with urgency, emotion, and historical resonance. Through layered textures and gestural forms, Hafiez transforms everyday life into powerful visual narratives that reflect Sudan’s social and cultural realities.
The works in this exhibition highlight diverse aspects of Sudanese collective life, particularly in relation to urban spaces and social environments. The colours - reminiscent of the tar - depict various facial features and body gestures as interconnected elements that transcend ethnicity and geography. Social and cultural differences are expressed through connectivity, emphasizing the uniqueness of each human face and element within the paintings' spatial composition. Art, as a tool for social cohesion and activism, is what makes Issam's exhibition important, as it promotes a perspective that links cultural diversity with social coexistence.Hafiez graduated in 1982 with a B.A. in Graphic Design from the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Khartoum Polytechnic. While trained within a formal, technique-based tradition, his practice has evolved into a highly individual language that emphasizes experimentation, abstraction, and the physicality of paint. Alongside his painting, his background in photography and design continues to inform his visual sensibility and compositional approach.
Notable solo exhibitions include Seasons of Memory at Khartoum Art Center (1996), exhibitions at the French Cultural Center in Khartoum (1996, 2011), Cry Azoum at the German Cultural Center in Khartoum (2001, 2004), Behind the Doors (2011), and Black & White: January 10th; Once Again in Nairobi (2025). His work has also been featured in group exhibitions and international events, including the Cairo Biennale, Moscow Youth Festival, Sudan Art Aid in London, and exhibitions across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
His works are held in collections in Khartoum, Kampala, Cairo, and Syria. Now based in Nairobi, Hafiez continues to develop painting-led projects that engage with memory, displacement, and resilience.
