Esmaa Mohamoud is a multi-disciplinary conceptual artist who describes her studio practice as an examination of “the monolithic versus the multitude.” Her work is a visually stunning and profound examination of the gap between contemporary culture’s oversimplification and diminishment of Black people, compared to the complexity, richness, and diversity of their actual lived experiences. Mohamoud was born and raised in the small suburban town of London, Ontario. Mohamoud recalls frequently being the only Black person in academic and social settings, and most of her early encounters with representations of Blackness came from American media, which tended to present Black culture in superficial and monolithic terms.
Mohamoud’s practice manifests across multiple mediums—including sculpture, photography, textiles, video, and large-scale public installations—and incorporates a broad range of materials and methods, including concrete, textiles, metal, and found objects. Works by Mohamoud are in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada; Art Gallery of Ontario; Weatherspoon Museum; Institute for the Humanities, University of Michigan; Museum London; and University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries, among others. Mohamoud was an Artist-in-Residence in Kehinde Wiley’s renowned Black Rock Senegal residency program in Dakar, Senegal in 2021.
Photo credit: Jeremy Clemente