Miska MOHMMED - Solo Show: WHISPERS BETWEEN THE WAVES

Mindscapes of Memory:A conversation with Miska Mohmmed

Sorella Acosta, Art Curator: I’ve long admired how your work moves between memory, landscape, and abstraction. Could you tell me about your earliest relationship with the land—your experiences in Sudan, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia— and how these shaped your visual sensibility?

Miska Mohmmed: I was born in Omdurman, Sudan, and that city, with its closeness to the Nile and its wide skies, gave me my first sense of space and light. My family is originally from Dongola in the north of Sudan, which is desert land with the Nile crossing through it. The ground there is covered with sand, and the contrast between the Nile and the desert is very sharp. Even though I visited Dongola only a few times, the image of that place stayed with me.Later, I grew up in Saudi Arabia, where I felt the openness of the country, with its silence and endless horizons. In Kenya, I discovered a very different landscape, full of green and constant movement. All of these places shaped my way of seeing. They remain in my memory not as exact pictures but as feelings and atmospheres. When I paint, I try to express those feelings. This is why my work is not about copying landscapes but about showing the memory and emotion of the land.

SA: I love your use of the term “mindscapes.” Could you share how this concept emerged, and what it means in your current practice?

MM: I began using the word "Mindscapes" when I realized my paintings are not about real locations. They come from memories, dreams, and emotions connected to land and movement. The idea grew naturally as I worked. A mindscape is a place that exists inside me but is shaped by the outside world I have lived in. It is a mix of desert, river, sea, and light, also a mix of feelings and time.
Today, when I paint,I think of each work as a mindscape that invites others to enter. It is not about where I have been, but about what I carry within me and how I share it through color and texture.

SA: Let’s talk about individual works. In your catalogue “Whispers between the Waves”, I see “Dusk Over Lotus Fields” (2025), “Ebb and Bloom” (2025), “Through the Reedgrass” (2025), “Still Blooming” (2025), and “Harbour Songs” (2025), among others. Could you walk us through your creative process with one or two of these works—from idea to finished piece?

MM: I will speak about two paintings, “Harbour Songs” and “Still Blooming”.With “Harbour Songs”, I was inspired by my long fascination with harbors. I have always been drawn to them, both in my past and in the places I see around me. They stay in my memory because they are full of movement and connection. For me, harbors are not only buildings or points on a map. They are spaces filled with waiting, departure, arrival, and leaving. They are symbols of constant change, like migration and journeys that remain in memory. When I paint, I start directly on the canvas without sketches. I build many layers, sometimes covering and uncovering, until the feeling of the harbor comes alive.”Still Blooming” belongs to my Lotus Land series. Here, I was inspired by the lotus flower, which grows from water and continues to bloom even in hard conditions. For me, it is a symbol of resilience and hope. In this work, I wanted to show both depth and renewal. I painted in layers of greens and blues, with bright details that rise like forms under water. The painting grows slowly, adding and removing marks until the feeling of blooming becomes clear. It is a work about life continuing to open even in uncertain times.

SA: Your work often evokes the fluidity of water, shifting light, and ephemeral horizons. How has your cross-cultural life—across Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya—shaped this vision? Do you see tension, harmony, or rupture in it?

MM: Living between Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya gave me very different ways of seeing. Sudan has great diversity in its land and cultures. Saudi Arabia gave me the feeling of openness and wide horizons. Kenya brought me closer to greenery, and constant movement.These contrasts shaped how I think about change and fluidity. In my paintings, I do not see clear borders between places. Instead, I try to show how memories and landscapes flow into each other. Sometimes the mix feels calm and balanced, other times it carries tension. For me, this shifting vision is part of my identity.

SA: In your biography, it’s mentioned that you began tagging works #freecomposition around 2016, moving from representation to abstraction. What prompted this turning point?

MM: Around 2016 I started to feel limited by direct representation. Before that, I painted more traditional landscapes and scenes. But I wanted more freedom, to let the painting grow without being tied to a fixed image.That is when I began calling my works "free compositions."It was a turning point because I realized I could use lines, shapes, and colors to express memory and emotion more deeply than by copying what I see. This way of working gave me space to explore movement, rhythm, and atmosphere. It also allowed me to connect my inner world with the landscapes I carry inside me. Since then, this freedom has become the base of my practice.

SA: What role do imperfection, accident, or “mistake” play in your process?MM: Imperfection is vital to my process. I don’t seek to control everything on the canvas. Often what first appears as an accident becomes the key to a new direction. I keep many of these marks, shaping them until they feel integral. They bring honesty, vulnerability, and life to the work. In a way, I strive to perfect the imperfection.

SA: As a Sudanese artist working in contemporary abstraction, what challenges have you faced—whether institutional, economic, or cultural? And conversely, what aspirations drive you forward?

MM: I was fortunate to leave Sudan early, which allowed me to build visibility and connect with galleries abroad. Many Sudanese artists don’t have that chance, especially today, with the war and the absence of strong institutions. I carry that awareness with me—it shapes both my responsibility and my perspective as an artist.

There are challenges. At times, expectations are placed on Sudanese art to appear traditional or overtly political. By working in abstraction, I want to show that memory, identity, and history can also be expressed through atmosphere, texture, and color.

What drives me forward is the possibility of growth and connection. I want to continue expanding my practice internationally while also contributing to spaces where Sudanese voices in abstraction can be seen and celebrated. My hope is to encourage and support other Sudanese artists along the way.

SA: Looking ten years ahead, what kind of work do you hope to be making? Do you imagine new mediums, larger scales, or collaborations?

MM: In ten years, I hope my work will grow in both scale and depth. I want to expand into larger paintings and installations that people can walk into and feel surrounded by. I enjoy exploring new elements and mediums, but at the same time I want painting to remain at the heart of my practice and my signature, because it is the language that feels most natural to me. My hope is that in ten years my work will keep expanding while staying true to the spirit of "Mindscapes”.

SA: Lastly, for viewers encountering your work for the first time, what would you like them to take away?

MM: When people see my work for the first time, I hope they feel calm and open, as if the painting is a space they can step into. Each work comes from my memories, but I want it to open a door to their own. If they walk away with even a small sense of connection, then the painting has done its part.