„In my work, I confront violence, but I aim to present it ethically with care and responsibility. I’m not just asking what violence looks like, but rather: What co-mes after?“
–Amna Elhassan
For the exhibition Resonance of Absence, basis e. V. presents the vibrant, enga-ging and personal works of the Sudanese artist Amna Elhassan in a wide-ranging institutional solo exhibition that concentrates on the years 2021–2025. Exhibited are works that were specially created for the show, alongside her most recent paintings that she produced as part of her scholarship from the Martin Roth Ini-tiative in Frankfurt. They are brought in dialogue with some of her artworks that depict a time before the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023.
For her exhibition at basis e.V., Elhassan focuses on the escalating violence against women in Sudan. Of particular importance here is the war-torn region of Al Ja-zirah. Drawing on memories she has relating to space, she explores the complex interplay of individual, collective, and historical memory. Further, she engages with cultural inscriptions and colonial continuities in the exhibition spaces.
In her figurative paintings, classical geometries and perspectives are dissolved.
Besides her paintings, her prints, installations and soundworks are also shown.
The exhibited works address the physical, emotional and social experiences of women and children in Sudan and the diaspora, which are characterised by war, flight and political upheaval. Women from Elhassan‘s community, culture and en-vironment are also major sources of inspiration: their resilience, rituals and tra-ditions have a profound influence on the artist’s visual language.
Elhassan’s paintings capture the beauty and value of fleeting moments. Her art-works relate to everyday life, moments of solidarity, and mutual support. Her works depict and honour the struggles and resilience of women who led the re-volutionary movements in 2018 and they help to preserve and pass on their sto-ries. At the same time, her art addresses the violence to which the people of Su-dan are subjected on a daily basis and which has led to more than twelve million people being displaced within and beyond Sudan’s borders. Elhassan’s works are thus not solely an artistic testimony, but also play an active role in contributing to a public discourse on Sudan that is otherwise marked by silence.
In a movement characterised by a sense of searching, Elhassan’s exhibits open up possible spaces for healing. The title of the exhibition, Resonance of Absence, pays tribute to the absent and is dedicated to all those who have been affected by flight and displacement, including those who have lost their lives in the strugg-le for a democratic society in Sudan. Their stories find resonance in Elhassan’s works and this can be experienced in the exhibition space.
Curated by Carlotta Döhn
