Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, States of Oneness, Serpentine Gallery South ★★★★★
Kamala Ibrahim Ishag has influenced and mentored artists from all over the world. It is a privilege to see a retrospective of her work at the Serpentine Gallery, featuring a selection of paintings from the 60s to today.
Born in Sudan in the 30s, and one of the first women to graduate from the College of Fine Art in Khartoum, Ishag has been a pioneer in shifting a traditional male perception of art towards a feminine approach.
Her work centres on the intangible aspects of women's lives in Sudan as well as mythology and earthy spiritualism, as told by her mother and grandmothers.
She almost always paints women – seated at tables, attending women-only ceremonies — Women with their faces distorted in crystal cube (1984) painting is perhaps one of her most arresting works.
In the background of Frieze London and in a shifting contemporary art landscape that is gradually opening its doors to black female artists previously under-represented in a predominantly white male western market, the precursory work of Kamala Ibrahim Ishag is a revelation.
WHEN
7 October -- 29 January
WHERE
Serpentine Gallery South