Artist: Ahmed Umar

Ahmed Umar is a Sudanese cross-disciplinary artist based in Oslo, Norway. Glowing Phalanges forms part of his ongoing project Forbidden Prayers, a body of work he has been developing since 2018. The exhibition presents a series of sculptural works in glass and mixed media; each held in acrylic casts of the artist’s right hand.

Glowing Phalanges emerges from Umar’s experience of growing up between two Islamic traditions: Sufism in Sudan, where his family originates and Wahhabism in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he was raised. While both are branches of Islam, their approaches to devotional practice differ significantly. Sufi traditions embrace the use of prayer beads and amulets, whereas Wahhabism forbids such objects, instead favouring the counting of prayers on the phalanges of the right hand. According to this teaching, the phalanges will glow on Judgement Day as a sign of devotion, giving rise to the exhibition’s title.