ART X Lagos 2018

Booth 4, 2-4 November 2018

Circle is pleased to attend the 3rd edition of ART X Lagos, showing a selection of works by Michael Musyoka (Kenya, b. 1986) and Salah Elmur (Sudan, b. 1966)

Salah Elmur graduated in Graphic Design from the College of Fine and Applied Art, Sudan University, Khartoum. Renowned as a painter of narratives, Elmur’s work is inspired by the studio photographs in Khartoum in the 60s and 70s. His paintings are of stylized families portraits sometimes with symbols and animals that give us clues about the family, their relationships and their work. Elmur has also published 12 children’s books which have been translated into many languages and is a successful film maker, directing six short documentaries and fantasy films which have been shown at international film festivals.

He has participated in group and solo exhibitions all over East Africa, the Middle East and Europe since 1985. In February 2018, the Sharjah Art Museum in the UAE held Fragrances of the Forest and Photos, a retrospective of Elmur’s work over the past three decades. His work is collected widely, and is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, MACAAL, in Marrakech.

Michael Musyoka’s career began with signwriting in 2006. A graduate of the Buruburu Institute of Fine Art in Nairobi, Musyoka’s work has developed through experimentation with a number of stylistic approaches including cubism and surrealism, and various techniques, such as painting, collage, and illustration. He is a founding member of the Buruburu-based Brush Tu artists’ collective.

Musyoka’s compositional style is informed by the aesthetics of street and matatu graffiti in Nairobi, local signwriting styles, and graphic novels. His present work investigates relationships in the public and private spheres, paying attention to the legal, religious, and moral constraints put on individuals and their capacity to act in society. In addition, he explores the compromises we make everyday, and the exchanges that in his view, mark our increasingly transactional relationships.