Sudan: Waleed Mohammed - Using Art to Preserve Sudan's Collective Memory

Sudanese visual artist Waleed Mohammed is using his art to document and preserve the country's collective memory in the wake of the ongoing war. Drawing from his own experiences of war, displacement, and family separation, Mohammed utilizes painting, diverse materials, and multimedia in his studio in Nairobi, Kenya, to explore the transformations in Sudanese lives since the outbreak of war in April 2023.

His artistic journey began in childhood, inspired by historical photographs and family albums. Following his graduation in March 2023, shortly before the war began, Mohammed relocated to Nairobi, where he embarked on a new chapter in his creative career. He finds inspiration in archives of Sudanese photographers, including Rashid Mahdi and Gadalla Gubara, and other photographic sources.

Mohammed's work delves into the intersection of individual memory and collective trauma, often using monochromatic grey tones to represent fading photographs and richly saturated colors to convey the vibrancy of Sudan's social life. Faces in his paintings are frequently obscured or erased, symbolizing the fragility of memory and the loss of loved ones.

His paintings often incorporate various techniques such as painting, embroidery, Arabic calligraphy, and deliberate brushstrokes. These methods serve to emphasize the duality of his work, exploring both the personal and collective aspects of the Sudanese experience during the war. One painting, "Awab," is dedicated to his nephew who is currently in Libya, illustrating the artist's desire to preserve his presence and connection despite the distances caused by conflict.

The artist's approach is deeply rooted in the concept of post-memory, which refers to the relationship of a later generation to a trauma they did not personally experience, but which is transmitted through photographs, stories, and silence. Mohammed's work, while drawing from this concept, distinguishes itself by not falling solely within its rigid parameters. This distinction gives his artistic expression its unique character, making it an essential contribution to the ongoing narrative of Sudan's collective memory.