Your art carries a strong sense of storytelling. What narratives or emotions are you most drawn to express?
Sudan is an ethnically diverse country, rich in history and interesting events. Growing up, I remember hearing about political figures being assassinated, or watching children in my neighborhood burn tires as a sign of demonstration, and waking up to the sound of a military march song announcing yet another coup. Grounded in lived experience and close observation, my work opposes the systems (historical and ongoing) that shape our collective memory. I’m drawn to explore the complex intersection of identity, power & resistance of the Sudanese community, and painting allows me to hold space for those stories that are often silenced, faces lost in protest, the quiet dignity of survival, and the ongoing fight for justice. 

How would you define the word cinematic through your artistic lens?
The way a painting captures a moment, as if it were a glimpse of a scene that extends beyond the frame, or creates an atmosphere where each figure and detail feels charged with story and emotion. 

Your work feels deeply intimate and symbolic. How do you balance realism and imagination?
Well, it starts with something real, a memory, a face, or a feeling, but I let imagination reshape it, through a blend of visual symbols, figures, & architectural references of places I have been to. It's usually addressing a state of violence, displacement or gender issues.
Realism keeps me grounded, and the imagination gives the work its voice, allowing me to transform reality into something emotional and symbolic.

What inspires your color palette and composition choices?
I noticed that my surroundings have a major impact on my color choices: the earthy tones in my early work were mostly created back home in Sudan; the dusty atmosphere and unfinished buildings in Khartoum have influenced my artwork; and the extreme heat and grumpy faces, with skin almost taking on a reddish tint.
Now living in Toronto surrounded by skyscrapers with greenish-blue-tinted windows, the pink cherry blossom during spring, the reddish-orange of maple leaves during fall, and the hazy sky of winter has subconsciously sneaked into my most recent work.

Are there specific films, directors, or visual influences that shape your aesthetic?
I visualize Pink Floyd songs, they influenced many of my paintings, I think I’ve created more than 5 different pieces inspired by the song “Time” only. But if I have to pick film or directors, I love the visuals presented in Wes Anderson, Stanley Kubrick, and Andrei Tarkovsky's work.

How do you bring emotion and texture to life in your creative process?
My creative process is staring at an empty canvas for 60% of the time, layering paint, then scraping it back, and going home. Using oil paint, a slow-drying, forgiving medium, allows me to come back the next day with a fresh vision and start over. I suppose letting accidents happen, the traces of hesitation held in canvas, memory, or conflict, and each mark is a feeling made visible.

Many of your pieces center around women. How does femininity or identity inform your storytelling?
I remember the first protest I went to, I was in high school, to stop violence against women. I didn’t fully grasp its depth until studying at Ahfad University for Women. We took courses on women and gender studies, went on field trips with the purpose of addressing issues about women's health like premature marriage, family planning, harmful FGM practices, and so on. The lack of technical support in rural communities encouraged me to use art as a tool for communicating. All this has opened my eyes to how women carry resistance, strength, vulnerability, contradictions, and the tiny rebellions that keep things moving forward. Each figure I paint carries a story, sometimes personal, other times collective, but always rooted in what it means to exist and be seen as a woman.

If your art were a film, what would its title or message be?
Time has always fascinated me, how it expands beyond four-letter words, slips, and quietly shapes everything. If I made a film, it might just be two hours of a clock ticking, a reflection on how we spend or waste our days! Beneath the humor, it might be about utilizing the limited time we have on earth.
What do you hope viewers feel or reflect on when they encounter your work?
To remember Humanity.

How do you envision your art evolving in the coming years?
Being a self-taught artist is a journey fueled by passion, discipline, and continuous learning; every brushstroke or creation becomes a testament to dedication and personal growth. Painting has taught me to pause, observe, reflect, and be patient. I've been experimenting with cameras; maybe the next phase is to create scenes that move and breathe.