Musa. A Sudanese art icon

Musa (Hassan Musa) is an African artist whose work has been exhibited in an impressive number of prestigious venues, among them the Venice Biennale, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, San Diego Museum of Art, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and the Johannesburg Art Gallery. He was in Belgium for an exhibition at the Museum of Tapestry and the Museum of Fine Arts in Tournai and to present a paper at the "Icons of Globalization" conference at the Pascal Polar Gallery Brussels.

Musa has created a technique, a tapestry of a new genre. Another of the artist’s hallmarks include revisiting the classics in the history of art like Manet's Olympia or icons of history in general like Josephine Baker, the Hottentot Venus, Bin Laden or Ché Guevara . He often borrows their bodies for his self-portraits. This ping-pong between him and the icons of art, history or fantasy could be summed up in one of his dictums: "The images are like blows: you get them, and you give them."

HG - You have captured a portrait of a particular icon, the image of Bin Laden released by the U.S. authorities reflected in a mirror. Don't you run the risk of being misunderstood?

M - No, my point is so obvious that it is not possible. Except for the very few people in Sudan who do not appreciate that my work shows female nudes. But overall, people do see things in perspective and understand the meaning of my work.

HG - Many people consider that Art and how it is perceived today have become globalised. This would make you like all of the artists of the world, a Western artist. Do you agree?

M - Yes. Globalization did not begin with the fall of the Berlin Wall which brought together East and West but during the period of colonisation when European states divided Africa amongst   themselves. Each nation took its own share  and tried to form people in its own image. Today, there are Africans who cannot write in their mother tongue.

HG-How would you describe your work – soft paintings almost like portrait photography and tending to abstract, frolicking with an image of Epinal?

M-I reflect upon the images, shapes and colour. My pleasure lies in starting from pure technique and creating something that pleases the eye. My passion is drawing. I do Arabic calligraphy, watercolour and oil paint. I mix it all up to create images on transparent fabric that I paint and repaint, creating layer upon layer. This is a job requiring a lot of energy, but the pleasure of seeing the image appear after a while is extraordinary.

HG – If we take your self-portrait 382 003, how did you create it?

M - Occasionally, I do self-portraits. When I do not have a specific project at hand, it allows me to start again. When I worked on images of Josephine Baker and Sarah Baartman (Ed: one of two South African women exposed as Hottentot Venus) who were abused in London and Paris. There was an abhorrent debate in France on ‘Black’ as if it were a political category. I put myself in this self-portrait from Josephine Baker and Sarah Baartman. I call them self-portraits with dark thoughts. I have other ideas of colour too.

* Along with Fabian Bocart, specialised in the econometrics of the art market who discussed eon "Contemporary African Art: a promising investment."

Hegel Goutier