Deprivation XXVII, 2026
Scrap Metal
122.5 x 263.6cm
Kshs 350 000
Scrap Metal
122.5 x 263.6cm
Kshs 350 000
Adlan Yousif
Deprivation
Artist's Statement
This exhibition is entitled ‘Deprivation’, and is a visual reflection on one of the most harrowing human experiences: the deprivation of a person’s most basic rights to life. These works explore the meaning of deprivation in its various forms: deprivation of a dignified life, of food and healthcare, of safety and basic human rights. But they go further, revealing the deepest wound: the deprivation of childrens' childhoods, of schooling and play, and the separation of families from one another.
In many parts of the world, particularly in war-torn regions, deprivation becomes part of daily life. Children grow up without a childhood, fathers lose their sons, and mothers wait for a return that never comes. These experiences are not always visible in statistics or news reports, but they live on in the memories, faces and stories we carry with us.
Through sculpture, using harsh materials such as iron and scrap metal, I transform the remnants of discarded objects into bodies and faces that bear the marks of both pain and resilience. These works speak not only of loss, but of the human capacity to persevere despite everything. “Deprivation” is not merely a documentation of suffering, but an attempt to give form and voice to those who have been denied a voice.
Adlan Yousif - March 2026 - Nairobi, Kenya
This exhibition is entitled ‘Deprivation’, and is a visual reflection on one of the most harrowing human experiences: the deprivation of a person’s most basic rights to life. These works explore the meaning of deprivation in its various forms: deprivation of a dignified life, of food and healthcare, of safety and basic human rights. But they go further, revealing the deepest wound: the deprivation of childrens' childhoods, of schooling and play, and the separation of families from one another.
In many parts of the world, particularly in war-torn regions, deprivation becomes part of daily life. Children grow up without a childhood, fathers lose their sons, and mothers wait for a return that never comes. These experiences are not always visible in statistics or news reports, but they live on in the memories, faces and stories we carry with us.
Through sculpture, using harsh materials such as iron and scrap metal, I transform the remnants of discarded objects into bodies and faces that bear the marks of both pain and resilience. These works speak not only of loss, but of the human capacity to persevere despite everything. “Deprivation” is not merely a documentation of suffering, but an attempt to give form and voice to those who have been denied a voice.
Adlan Yousif - March 2026 - Nairobi, Kenya
Deprivation XVII, 2026
Scrap Metal
42 x 18 x 19cm
Kshs 310 000
Scrap Metal
42 x 18 x 19cm
Kshs 310 000
Deprivation V, 2026
Scrap Metal
44.5 x 13.5 x 18cm
Kshs 160 000
Scrap Metal
44.5 x 13.5 x 18cm
Kshs 160 000
Deprivation XVI, 2026
Scrap Metal
24.5 x 30 x 28cm
Kshs 140 000
Scrap Metal
24.5 x 30 x 28cm
Kshs 140 000
Deprivation XX, 2026
Scrap Metal
141 x 28 x 20cm
Kshs 200 000
Scrap Metal
141 x 28 x 20cm
Kshs 200 000
Deprivation XIX, 2026
Scrap Metal
42 x 16 x 21cm
Kshs 310 000
Scrap Metal
42 x 16 x 21cm
Kshs 310 000
Deprivation XVIII, 2026
Scrap Metal
44 x 17 x 21 cm
Kshs 310 000
Scrap Metal
44 x 17 x 21 cm
Kshs 310 000
Adlan Yousif
Contemporary Sculptor
Born in El-Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan (1992)
Education ● Sudan University of Science and Technology – College of Fine and Applied Arts (2015)
My work stems from that fragile space between presence and absence, between belonging and loss; from the suspended state of being that humans experience “between exiles.” I do not embody the human body as a silent object, but rather as a witness carrying on its back the weight of memory, the rust of forgotten places, and the silent echoes of displacement. War is deeply rooted in my vision. It is not merely an external context, but a harsh force that reshapes the body, the soul, and destiny. Through my work, I reinterpret its effects on humans; I reveal its fragility, confront its silence, and give the forgotten a visual voice that restores their existence. I see art as a tool of resistance and a space for defending human rights, by documenting the violations suffered by unarmed civilians especially women, children, and the elderly those who bear the brunt of violence without their suffering being heard. I work with scrap metal and recycled metals, transforming what is broken, discarded or corroded into forms that speak of resilience and dignity. These materials carry their own history of corrosion and conflict, and through them I explore how the spirit is marked by exile, how home becomes a dream, and how that dream becomes something carried on one's shoulders. My characters are neither heroes nor victims; they are travellers on an unfinished journey, bodies bent with exhaustion but still standing. They embody the psychological, emotional and human dimension of forced displacement: the moment when a person is forced to leave without a clear path, and the experience in which memory becomes both a burden and a homeland. Through my artistic practice, I seek to open a window onto the inner worlds of the displaced and marginalised: those who dream of returning and those who have given up on the idea. I am drawn to the stillness amid chaos, the silence that screams what language cannot say, and the strength that emerges even from rusted metal. Ultimately, my vision is to create art that stands at the intersection of memory, survival, and resistance art that gives the viewer space to contemplate the meaning of belonging and justice.
Solo Exhibitions
● Scrap Gallery, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (April 2016)
● The Value of Nothing, Rashid-Diab Centre Gallery, Khartoum (October 2016)
● Season of Misery, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (February 2018)
● Transformations, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (August 2021)
● Rusty Souls (with Contraband), Noir Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya (January 2024)
● MABAKI, HOF Gallery Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya (March 2024)
● Between Exiles, One- Off Contemporary Art Gallery, Nairobi (July 2025)
Group Exhibitions
● Unity, Peace, and Violence Against Women, UNAMID Exhibition, El-Fasher (2009)
● Asrar Al-Kosha, Sudan’s First Recycling Exhibition, Khartoum (2016)
● Decade of Rashid-Diab Center, Khartoum (2017)
● Animal in Sudanese Culture, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (2018)
● Awareness at Mycetoma, French Cultural Center, Khartoum (2018)
● Life in Sudan, US Ambassador’s Residence, Sudan (2023)
● Affordable Art Show Kenya, Nairobi National Museum (October 2023 & May 2024)
● Friends of the Arts, International School of Kenya, Nairobi (2023)
● Anthropology of Detachment, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi (February 2024)
● Unite with the Children of Sudan, UNICEF, USAID, Save the Children, Nairobi (June 2024)
● Nordic Encounters: Contemporary Artists from Sudan, The Wing, Fullersta Gård, Sweden (September 2024)
Residencies
● Visa for Creativity, International City of Arts, Paris (2019)
● Rebirth – Collaboration with Egyptian artist Jalal Juma, French Institute Sudan (2022)
● Kibera Arts District (Nairobi, 2024) – Artist studio, mentorship, solo show, art catalogue, and film documentary
Awards & Permanent Collections
● First Creative Youth Wreath Award, Sudan (October 2017)
● Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation (December 2017)
Permanent Collections
○ National Museum of Kenya (Rusty Souls Series, March 2024)
○ House of Friends Kenya (MABAKI One, April 2024)
○ Official invitation to create and present an artwork at the honoring ceremony of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina (President of the African Development Bank and former Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria) in Mozambique 2025.
Publications & Press
● Contributor to History and Civilizations of Sudan (published by Soleb, 2017)
● Kenya Art Diary 2025 – Selected artist
● Featured in articles by Fabrice Mongiat (French Embassy Sudan), Imad Mansour (Franco Iraqi artist), Mohamed Morada (Sudanese artist), and more.
● Included in the East African Art collection Book, Echoes of Humanity, by Hellmuth Rossler & Erica Musch-Rossler, 2025.
Workshops & Teaching
● Conducted training workshops with GIZ (German Organization) (2018)
● Led a workshop during Transformations exhibition, French Cultural Center (2018)
● Anthropology of Detachment – Artist Talk, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi (March 2024)○ Keynote speaker discussing Sudan’s current situation and the role of art in shaping narratives.
● Workshops Attended: Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay, The Louvre, Atelier des Lumières, Picasso Museum, and others.
Languages
● Arabic, English
Contemporary Sculptor
Born in El-Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan (1992)
Education ● Sudan University of Science and Technology – College of Fine and Applied Arts (2015)
My work stems from that fragile space between presence and absence, between belonging and loss; from the suspended state of being that humans experience “between exiles.” I do not embody the human body as a silent object, but rather as a witness carrying on its back the weight of memory, the rust of forgotten places, and the silent echoes of displacement. War is deeply rooted in my vision. It is not merely an external context, but a harsh force that reshapes the body, the soul, and destiny. Through my work, I reinterpret its effects on humans; I reveal its fragility, confront its silence, and give the forgotten a visual voice that restores their existence. I see art as a tool of resistance and a space for defending human rights, by documenting the violations suffered by unarmed civilians especially women, children, and the elderly those who bear the brunt of violence without their suffering being heard. I work with scrap metal and recycled metals, transforming what is broken, discarded or corroded into forms that speak of resilience and dignity. These materials carry their own history of corrosion and conflict, and through them I explore how the spirit is marked by exile, how home becomes a dream, and how that dream becomes something carried on one's shoulders. My characters are neither heroes nor victims; they are travellers on an unfinished journey, bodies bent with exhaustion but still standing. They embody the psychological, emotional and human dimension of forced displacement: the moment when a person is forced to leave without a clear path, and the experience in which memory becomes both a burden and a homeland. Through my artistic practice, I seek to open a window onto the inner worlds of the displaced and marginalised: those who dream of returning and those who have given up on the idea. I am drawn to the stillness amid chaos, the silence that screams what language cannot say, and the strength that emerges even from rusted metal. Ultimately, my vision is to create art that stands at the intersection of memory, survival, and resistance art that gives the viewer space to contemplate the meaning of belonging and justice.
Solo Exhibitions
● Scrap Gallery, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (April 2016)
● The Value of Nothing, Rashid-Diab Centre Gallery, Khartoum (October 2016)
● Season of Misery, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (February 2018)
● Transformations, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (August 2021)
● Rusty Souls (with Contraband), Noir Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya (January 2024)
● MABAKI, HOF Gallery Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya (March 2024)
● Between Exiles, One- Off Contemporary Art Gallery, Nairobi (July 2025)
Group Exhibitions
● Unity, Peace, and Violence Against Women, UNAMID Exhibition, El-Fasher (2009)
● Asrar Al-Kosha, Sudan’s First Recycling Exhibition, Khartoum (2016)
● Decade of Rashid-Diab Center, Khartoum (2017)
● Animal in Sudanese Culture, Regional French Institute of Sudan, Khartoum (2018)
● Awareness at Mycetoma, French Cultural Center, Khartoum (2018)
● Life in Sudan, US Ambassador’s Residence, Sudan (2023)
● Affordable Art Show Kenya, Nairobi National Museum (October 2023 & May 2024)
● Friends of the Arts, International School of Kenya, Nairobi (2023)
● Anthropology of Detachment, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi (February 2024)
● Unite with the Children of Sudan, UNICEF, USAID, Save the Children, Nairobi (June 2024)
● Nordic Encounters: Contemporary Artists from Sudan, The Wing, Fullersta Gård, Sweden (September 2024)
Residencies
● Visa for Creativity, International City of Arts, Paris (2019)
● Rebirth – Collaboration with Egyptian artist Jalal Juma, French Institute Sudan (2022)
● Kibera Arts District (Nairobi, 2024) – Artist studio, mentorship, solo show, art catalogue, and film documentary
Awards & Permanent Collections
● First Creative Youth Wreath Award, Sudan (October 2017)
● Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation (December 2017)
Permanent Collections
○ National Museum of Kenya (Rusty Souls Series, March 2024)
○ House of Friends Kenya (MABAKI One, April 2024)
○ Official invitation to create and present an artwork at the honoring ceremony of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina (President of the African Development Bank and former Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria) in Mozambique 2025.
Publications & Press
● Contributor to History and Civilizations of Sudan (published by Soleb, 2017)
● Kenya Art Diary 2025 – Selected artist
● Featured in articles by Fabrice Mongiat (French Embassy Sudan), Imad Mansour (Franco Iraqi artist), Mohamed Morada (Sudanese artist), and more.
● Included in the East African Art collection Book, Echoes of Humanity, by Hellmuth Rossler & Erica Musch-Rossler, 2025.
Workshops & Teaching
● Conducted training workshops with GIZ (German Organization) (2018)
● Led a workshop during Transformations exhibition, French Cultural Center (2018)
● Anthropology of Detachment – Artist Talk, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi (March 2024)○ Keynote speaker discussing Sudan’s current situation and the role of art in shaping narratives.
● Workshops Attended: Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay, The Louvre, Atelier des Lumières, Picasso Museum, and others.
Languages
● Arabic, English
Deprivation XXVI, 2026
Scrap Metal
106 x 70 x 83cm
Kshs 950 000
Scrap Metal
106 x 70 x 83cm
Kshs 950 000
Deprivation XXV, 2026
Scrap Metal
180 x 54 x 66cm
Kshs 950 000
Scrap Metal
180 x 54 x 66cm
Kshs 950 000
Deprivation XXVIII, 2026
Mixed media
123 x 244.5cm
NFS
Mixed media
123 x 244.5cm
NFS