Doors open: 7 PM

Film starts: 7:30 PM
Followed by a discussion between Suzannah Mirghani, Amna Elhassan and Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann

With lyrical imagery Suzi Mirghani’s film captures the spirit of an artist who has reshaped Sudanese and global art history. Through a cinematic lens, the film offers an intimate portrait of Ishag’s world—where myth, memory, and creativity converge. A moving tribute to one of Sudan’s most visionary artists.

Kamala Ibrahim Ishag (b. 1939) is a pioneering Sudanese artist whose work spans over six decades and bridges the earthly and the spiritual. Known for her expressive use of natural colors and intertwining forms of plants and humans, her work reflects on themes of kinship, femininity, and mysticism. A founding member of the Crystalist movement and a key figure in the Khartoum School, Ishag helped shape Sudan’s post-independence modern art scene. Deeply inspired by her Khartoum home garden, the stories of spirits told by her mother and grandmothers, Sudanese folklore, Zar ceremonies, and visionary figures from her time in London such as William Blake or Francis Bacon, her practice resists singular categorization and continues to influence generations of artists.

This artist profile of Kamala Ibrahim Ishag was commissioned by the Serpentine Galleries to accompany an exhibition titled "Kamala Ibrahim Ishag: States of Oneness," on display at the Serpentine South Gallery on October 7, 2022-January 29, 2023.