Let Me share
I am
Coming from the war zones of Darfur, I was influenced by many scenes of oppression and enslavement. Like many who grew up in the Darfur region, I saw iron as a material much used for destruction. I turned it around to tell stories inspired by war-torn regions and societies. So my speciality using scrap metal in sculpture. My family discovered my talent when I was seven.
My vision leads to the implementation of my sculptural projects, with scrap metal as the basic material allowing the expression of this real tragedy, and the transformation of this hard, rusty and cold material into expressive and poetic poems with a heightened sense of drama. The process of seeking out the unknown or bringing in the unknown has remained constant in my work.
For me, the body is important because I start from sculptural points that allow me to transcribe the events of the day. I have a duty to illustrate contemporary events. The time has come to talk about freedom, because freedom still doesn’t exist. I have lost many friends and relatives who—for political or ideological reasons, or for any other reason— crossed the borders of certain states and countries, on foot or by boat. Today, there are thousands of people fleeing deprivation, oppression and war.
They cross the Mediterranean Sea, trying to escape a very difficult life on board small boats (veritable death boats) and drown along the way. There is no glimmer of hope left for these people and the future is closed to them; there is no hope of a decent life and all the crossings have been closed. They embark on a dangerous crossing and may never reach the opposite shore, joining the countless others who have disappeared.
I hope to convey to the world my artistic message of solidarity with all societies affected by war, because art is a noble human message, a form of struggle and a common language between peoples that transcends political and economic borders .
Me collecting scrap metal for my new works near my studio in the Kibera Arts District.