Hussein Salim was born in Karima, Sudan in 1966 and graduated from the Department of Science, Fine and Applied Arts, University of Sudan for Science Technology, Khartoumthe Sudan University, Khartoum in 1994. As a result of conflict in the Sudan, he lived in Wales, Germany and Norway.
A combination of excellent training, inspiration and camaraderie has guided Sudanese artists towards the creation of a modern aesthetic that expresses their dual African and Islamic identity. The style is characterized by graphic inventiveness with calligraphy and imagery expressive of Africa.
Salim spent a few months in Egypt before settling in South Africa in 2004. He earned a Post Graduate Diploma at the Centre for Visual Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg.
In 2007, Salim completed his MA in Fine Arts at the University of KZN, Pietermaritzburg, where he currently lives with his wife and two children. Salim’s work has been shown and collected in countries as diverse as South Africa, Norway, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Wales.
His brightly coloured, narrative work is included in major national collections throughout Africa, Europe and North Amercia. Dense with symbols, he often features figures in the desert, woman in brightly patterned clothing bearing loads on their heads, dancing shapes, animals, architectural forms, and areas of layered patterns.
