Hashim Nasr Turning Exile into a Platform for His People’s Struggle

Khartoum Highlight – By Kamil Ahmed “For me, red is always a representation of blood and losing people.  So I tend to use this red fabric to represent our trauma,” says Sudanese photographer Hashim Nasr, explaining how the horrors of war in his homeland have reshaped his art . Transforming it from a purely personal creative outlet into a powerful tool to document suffering and draw global attention to Sudan’s tragedy.

Before the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, Nasr’s photographs often carried dreamlike tones — figures covered in flowers or holding heart shapes. Challenging stereotypes of masculinity. Now, the flowing red fabric has become a dominant motif, symbolizing blood, loss, and the deep psychological wounds left by war.

Surreal art steeped in a lost homeland

In his acclaimed project “On War and Displacement”, anonymous figures in traditional white Sudanese jalabiya robes.  Hide their faces beneath conical masks, creating surreal scenes that merge mystery, nostalgia, and fear.
One striking image shows two people seated before a TV.  With a length of red fabric spilling out toward them — a symbolic depiction of Sudanese exiles trapped in front of screens.  Absorbing nothing but news of destruction and bloodshed. In other works, the red fabric links distant buildings or flows from a suitcase. Narrating the story of forced displacement and the search for a new home.

From a short holiday to prolonged exile

Hashim Nasr was on vacation in Egypt when fighting broke out in Sudan, and he has been unable to return to Khartoum ever since. His large family home there was looted by armed militias, and today he lives in a small apartment in Cairo. While his immediate family managed to escape. Man y of his relatives are among the 8 million internally displaced people inside Sudan. One of the most painful losses was the death of his uncle, who relied on kidney dialysis. Trapped by clashes, he could not reach treatment, despite the family’s pleas for him to move to safety or secure his medication.

Displacement by the numbers

According to UN estimates, more than 3.3 million Sudanese have fled the country since 2023. Including 1.5 million to Egypt, with the remainder scattered across neighboring states.

An artist born in the pandemic

Nasr’s journey into photography began during the Covid-19 pandemic.  When his dental clinic was forced to close. He started experimenting with self-portraits and photographing friends. Although he still practices dentistry part-time, art has now become his main focus. His work, shared widely on Instagram, has earned recognition in the international art world. He has won the East African Photography Award, received multiple fellowships and was named in the British Journal of Photography’s Ones to Watch list.

Art as a weapon against looting and forgetting

In his series “The Curse of Gold”,Hashim Nasr denounces the plundering of Sudan’s resources — especially gold — by armed groups. In most of his works, he conceals the faces of his subjects to protect them and their families still living inside Sudan.

A personal message to the world

“I feel this heavy weight on my shoulders,” Nasr says. “I need to express who I am and the impact this war has had on me and my family.”

Note: This article is adapted a feature originally published in The Guardian . On 11 August 2025. All rights remain with the original publication and author.