Salah Elmur also spelled Salah El Mur (Arabic: صلاح المر, born 1966, Al Jarif,

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

) is a

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

Sudanese

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, author, and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

, who lives and works in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt. His paintings have been exhibited in Sudan, the Middle East, East Africa, Europe and the United States and are held in notable museum collections, including the

Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden () or MACAAL, is an independent, nonprofit museum of contemporary art in Marrakesh, Morocco. The museum opened in November 2016 on the occasion of the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference, ...

(MACAAL) in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, the

Sharjah Art Foundation The Sharjah Art Foundation () is a contemporary art and cultural foundation based in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern ...

(SAF) in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

, the

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is a public non-profit museum in Cape Town, South Africa. Zeitz MOCAA opened on September 22, 2017 as the largest museum of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. The museum is locat ...

MOCAA in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, the

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the List of largest art museums, largest ar ...

(MIA) and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Life and artistic career

Elmur is known as a painter, filmmaker, photographer, illustrator, and author of several children's books. He studied at the College of Fine and Applied Arts in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and obtained his degree in graphic design from

Sudan University of Science and Technology Sudan University of Science and Technology (abbreviated SUST) is one of the largest public universities in Sudan, with ten campuses in Khartoum state. The main campus is located in the so-called Al Mugran area of Khartoum, the confluence of t ...

in 1989. Next, he worked as graphic designer for Sudanow magazine. Following the military coup that brought

Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...

to power in 1989, Elmur moved to

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

: “I fled to Kenya when they ecurity forcesarrested me for drawing a cartoon for the magazine depicting the coup.” he says. Four years later, Elmur relocated to Cairo, with frequent visits to his home country. Elmur grew up in a family of fishermen in a village on the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

, and memories of his childhood have been a recurrent influence on his painting. Another inspiration have been studio photographs of sitters that he inherited from his father's photographic studio. Several of his paintings were inspired by the Sunut Forest near the confluence of the

White Nile The White Nile ( ') is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. In the stri ...

and

, where Khartoumites used to spend their free time. Fruits are another preferred subject of Elmur. They can be found again and again in his paintings, just like people and animals. His works feature insects, fruits and people. Time and again, it is the bird in various forms and colours that he depicts in those paintings – sitting on the head of a person or on an arm, rocking on a rope or flying high above the other images. His painting style has been described as surrealistic, but not to the point of incomprehensibility. He favors bold tones in thick

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

strokes complemented with occasional shades of lighter

hue In color theory, hue is one of the properties (called color appearance parameters) of a color, defined in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that are described as ...

s. "The colours in my paintings are very strong because of the

sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

in my

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and also because of the people there, who love to wear colourful clothes," said Elmur. The subjects express unreserved

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

al capacities; although the paintings do not include significant events or action, each face appears to have a story behind it. The curator of an exhibition at the residence of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

in Cairo, organised and arranged by Mashrabia Gallery described his works saying "His paintings are full of symbols and rituals, but it is never clear what they really are – that makes them very mysterious and attractive." As a

, Elmur has directed and produced six short films, stylistically situated between

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

film. He won the

Jury Prize The Jury Prize () is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. According to American film critic Dave Kehr, the award is "intended to recognize an original work that embodies t ...

(special acknowledgement) for his

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

"Heaven's Bird" at the International Short Film festival "Images that matter" in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

in 2010. Elmur has also been active as writer or

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

of international

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, such as Hamdi Abo Golayyel's ''Heroes of Old'' and several other illustrated books in Arabic, French, English, Italian, German and Spanish. A_Monkey_and_an_Artichoke

Elmur is married with Souad Abdelrassoul (b.1974), an Egyptian artist, and they live in Cairo.

Reception and exhibitions

Elmur has participated in group and solo exhibitions in the Middle East, East Africa, Europe, Canada and the United States. His works are held by the

(MACAAL) in

, the

(SAF) in the

, the

MOCAA in

, the

(MIA) and the

Weisman Art Museum Weisman Art Museum is an art museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1934 as University Gallery, the museum was originally housed in an upper floor of the university's Northrop Auditorium. In 1993, the museum ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, and the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 2013, Elmur's exhibition "Eyes Stream" drew inspiration from the name of an ancient wall in Cairo, called "Wall of Hungarian Eyes." He meditated on the name, and decided to explore the

human eye The human eye is a sensory organ in the visual system that reacts to light, visible light allowing eyesight. Other functions include maintaining the circadian rhythm, and Balance (ability), keeping balance. The eye can be considered as a living ...

in a recent series of paintings. His 2011 series called "Circus" features strong colours, as well as Elmur's distinctive figurative, yet abstract style. There is the brown horse with the bright-orange

roller skates Roller skates are boots with wheels mounted to the bottom, allowing the user to travel on hard surfaces similarly to an ice skater on ice. The first roller skate was an inline skate design, effectively an ice skate with a line of wheels replac ...

under his hooves or the man with his tongue sticking out, ready to bite into a ripe slice of

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

– a reference to the people who came to the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

with their

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

s, when he was a child growing up in Sudan. In February 2018, an exhibition inspired by the childhood and early life of Elmur, called ''Fragrances of the Forest and Photos'' presenting more than 70 artworks was on show at the

Sharjah Art Museum The Sharjah Art Museum is an art museum in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.Sharjah Art Museum

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Here, his paintings lead the viewer through a personal voyage of discovery, showing some of his experiences of growing up in Khartoum. The works showed his exploration of the city's streets and the surrounding countryside as a child. In September 2018, Elmur took part in a group show with Kamala Ishaq and

Ibrahim El-Salahi Ibrahim El-Salahi (, born 5 September 1930) is a Sudanese painter, former public servant and diplomat. He is one of the foremost visual artists of the Khartoum School, considered as part of African Modernism and the pan-Arabic Hurufiyya art mov ...

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the ...

in London, entitled ''Forests and Spirits: Figurative art from the Khartoum School''. This exhibition intended to bring wider attention to contemporary African art and the influence of the Khartoum School, an art movement originating from the city's College of Fine and Applied Arts in the 1960s. The 2023 exhibition of his paintings in two London galleries was titled ''Central Electricity and Water Administration'', with paintings inspired by his childhood memories of the

public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

company in Khartoum. The accompanying catalogue ''Memories from a Tin Box'' presented his works, photographs from his archives and images from his sketchbooks. Editors Mary Aravanis and

Michael Obert Michael Obert (born 1966) is a German book author and journalist who has been compared with the likes of Bruce Chatwin, Jon Krakauer and Ryszard Kapuściński. His debut movie '' Song from the Forest'' was honored with the Award for Best Feature ...

contributed essays and notes on Elmur's work and career.

Major exhibitions

* ''Salah Elmur Fragrances of the Forest and Photos,''

Sharjah Art Museum The Sharjah Art Museum is an art museum in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.Sharjah Art Museum

, 2018 * ''Forests and Spirits: figurative art from the Khartoum School.'' SALON at

, London, UK, 2018. * Salah Elmur. EXPO Chicago, April 2022 * ''Central Electricity and Water Administration'', Gallery 1957 and Vigo Gallery, London, 2023.

References

External links

Exhibition ''Central Electricity and Water Administration'' at Gallery 1957, London, 2023

Salah Elmur
on artnet.com
Gallery of Salah Elmur's paintings from the EXPO Chicago exhibition 2022

Art of the Sudan: the convergence of two great traditions
webpage by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

with paintings by Elmur and other Sudanese painters
Article about Salah Elmur's painting Birds' Wailing
as statement about the

Sudanese Civil War The term Sudanese Civil War refers to at least three separate conflicts in Sudan in Northeast Africa: *First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) *Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) *Sudanese civil war (2023–present) It could also refer to other ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmur, Salah Living people 1966 births 20th-century Sudanese painters 21st-century Sudanese painters Sudanese painters Sudanese artists Sudanese graphic designers Sudanese screenwriters Sudanese film directors Sudanese film producers Sudanese male writers College of Fine and Applied Art (Khartoum) alumni

Life and artistic career

Reception and exhibitions

Major exhibitions

See also

References

Further reading

External links