Ahmed Umar

"Carrying the face of ugliness is a Sudanese proverb used to describe the cases of individuals being blamed for voicing an unpopular opinion, whistle-blowers, or first visible faces of a non-mainstream group. Practically explained in my situation after publicly coming out as gay in the Sudanese media. An action that was met with rejection and hate as I was probably the first one to take this step. For this reason, I carry the “face of ugliness” for my LGBTQ+ community. Until July 2020, the Sudanese Criminal law stated execution as a punishment for practicing “sodomy”. I secretly returned to Sudan after I was granted a Norwegian passport. There, I portrayed 8 LGBTQ+ people and allies who live in Sudan. For their personal security, I borrowed them my face. We posed with their faces covered with mine and I wore some of their clothes and jewelry. I also interviewed them about their dreams and future visions for Sudan." - Ahmed Umar Ahmed Umar (b.1988, Sudan) is a cross-disciplinary artist living and working in Oslo. He received his MFA degree in medium and material-based art from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2016. Through his work, Umar has also been an important front figure for queer persons with Muslim backgrounds in Norway and Sudan. His artistic practice highlights questions regarding identity, religion, and cultural values through different modes of artistic expression. He uses personal experiences as tools to convey narratives not only about suppression and alienation, but also about liberation and owning one’s own history. In 2023, Umar presented solo exhibitions at Kunstnernes Hus and Bergen Kunsthall in Norway. He was also nominated for the Lorck Schive Kunstpris at Trondheim Kunstmuseum. In 2024, Umar participated in the Venice Biennale and was the recipient of the Baloise Art Prize in the Statements sector at Art Basel. He presented his video work 'Truth Bears No Scandal' at the Toronto Biennial of Art. In 2025, Umar presented his solo exhibition at Museo Universitario del Chopo, Mexico, and was part of a group exhibition at Borås Art Museum. A new body of work from his ongoing series 'Glowing Phalanges' was presented at CHART art fair in Copenhagen, Denmark, and as part of his exhibition at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany. His video works were part of CPH:DOX at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen and at Borås Konstmuseum, Sweden. In 2026, Umar will be presenting his performance and video work 'Talitin, تالِتِن The Third', for the first time in France as part of Le Nouveau Printemps in Toulouse, and the video installation will also be part of a group exhibition at Copenhagen Contemporary. He is currently part of numerous institutional collections, including the National Museum of Norway, KODE, Kistefos, and MMK – Museum Für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt.