El Hussein “Jangooli” Mahir Saad Mehanni is a contemporary artist who gave birth to his practice in his hometown, The Second District Khartoum, Sudan. Profoundly influenced by his surroundings Jangooli grew up observing the realities of a nation that appears poor on its surface but is indefinitely rich by its people. Influenced by his uncle Jack Ishkhanes who painted during his time in Sudan, portraits of those he lived amongst.

Naturally drawing from Sudan, Gooli aims to tell more than the stereotypical African story instead honouring his people through portraiture showing the depth of East Africa it’s different ethnicities. Through his work he beings to reveal the different dynamics that exist between the subjects of his painting. Feminism introspected, children coming to age with eyes filled with multiple lifetimes and elders who share the same lens.

Touching these realities with shades of grey, monochromatic and realism, Jangooli fails to disappoint in the assembly of his subject, an application of dignity that transcends the reality of their supposed stereotype. Jangooli’s focus on eyes as his favourite feature turning the pages of the life that reveals itself before him as he shadows in the tone of each of his subjects further studying the depth of the story that illuminates their faces.

Art has always been in his life since his childhood what is untypical about this is that Jangoolis living underneath imposition of Islamic dictatorship where the walls are white and art is satire. Unannounced to him is the fact that via the influence of art in his childhood Jangooli grew with a natural resistance to those that oppressed his subjects. The surrealism in his portraits comes from the surreal nature of a life spent living in a Sudan that doesn’t recognise itself. It is him who returns the privilege to his subjects for them to begin defining their own identity.