Visual Chronicles

“I understood that drawing must be a continuous exercise, that I must document and create a visual diary of everything around me at all times and constantly observe.”
-    Salah Elmur
 

Strongly symbolic with a variegated iconographic repertoire, Elmur’s subjects take us to a different reality, a reality in which relations shift and a sense of nostalgia prevails.

Salah Elmur (born 1966, Al Jarif, Sudan) identifies his ancestry as coming from the two prominent tribes of Al Mahas and Al Jomhuriya in Northern Sudan. Growing up, the artist played amidst verdant forests, watched fishermen toil, listened to traditional music, and observed the dexterous skill of local craftsmen. This lively and vivid childhood contributed to a lifelong commitment and attachment to his homeland.

It was in his late teens that Elmur discovered photographic archives from Kamal Studio – a photography studio that his father, Kamal Al Din Mohamed Madani. Although Kamal Studio closed a year before Elmur was born, its archival remnants played a crucial role in his understanding of his familial and cultural history and informed his visual vocabulary.

Elmur is an artist, graphic designer, filmmaker, and author whose artistic practice showcases a visual anthology and fabulist interpretation of real and fictive events. Elmur unites disparate, emblematic elements, creating strongly symbolic and colorful paintings. His subjects transport viewers to a new reality showcasing a deep sense of sympathy for the human spirit, connecting the rich and diverse spectrum of tradition and culture.

"Salah Elmur: Visual Chronicles" is edited by Mona Khazindar, and features written contributions by: Othman Lazraq, Simon Njami, Myrna Ayad, and Nayra Zaghloul. The series is published by Rizzoli International Publications and is released in separate editions of Arabic and English.

Get Your Copy:
- Masaha Giftshop, Prince Faisal bin Fahd Arts Hall, Riyadh.