HUSSEIN HALFAWI (SUDANESE / KENYAN, B. 1969)
Untitled
gouache on paper, framed
32 x 18 cm (12 1/2 x 7 in)

PROVENANCE
Tulifanya Gallery, Kampala, Uganda
Private collection, London

Having commenced his training in the Industrial Design department of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Khartoum, Halfawi left the university in 1997 when the new totalitarian National Islamic Front (NIF) besieged his department as well as the College of Music and Drama. Halfawi subsequently moved from Khartoum to Nairobi. His work is widely collected in the region.

Growing up in the Northern state of Wadi Halfa, Sudan, the artist describes his formative years. “I am from the Kingdom of Kush, an ancient kingdom along the Nile. I grew up around wall-paintings, made from paints from the earth. Our houses in Wadi Halfa were full of art and decoration: plates to ward off evil eyes, stuffed crocodiles from the Nile, animal horns and paintings. I grew up in a very inspiring atmosphere.”