Lot 32

Issam Hafiez (Sudanese, born 1959)
War Wounds II, 2023
Signed ‘Issam 023’ (lower middle)
Acrylic on canvas mounted on board
50.9 x 40.7 cm
US$ 1,800 – 2,500
Provenance: direct from the artist
Sold US$ 1,878

Once a mural artist, now a notable painter and photographer, Issam Hafiez graduated from the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Khartoum in 1982. Over the years, Hafiez’s approach has taken a very individual detour from the technique-based training of the Khartoum College. Pushing the material and aesthetic qualities of paint and mark-making to extremes, Hafiez imbues his works with a powerful urgency.

The most recent work in this year’s auction, War Wounds II, 2023 is a semi-abstracted reflection on death and displacement following the recent conflict in Sudan that has left 3.6 million Sudanese internally displaced and 1 million having fled the country. Here he visualises an emotional landscape, infused with both the pain of conflict and a depth of love, care and longing.

Hafiez has exhibited in selected group exhibitions in the UK, Egypt, Syria, the UAE, Eritrea, Uganda and Kenya. His work is included in several collections in Kampala, Khartoum, Cairo and Syria. His photographs can be found in the book ‘Darfur and the Crisis of Governance in Sudan: A Critical Reader’ which was published by Africa World in 2008.