Possessed: The Mystical Post-Surrealism of Wifredo Lam, Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar, and Ibrahim El-Salahi

This essay compares three paintings made by three prominent global modern artists: the Cuban Wifredo Lam (1902–82), the Egyptian Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar (1925–66), and the Sudanese Ibrahim El-Salahi (b.1930). Combining Surrealist techniques with references to mystical practices of their natal communities, they express the state of possession of the non-white modern artist. Because of the asymmetrical power relations of colonization, they were both ‘possessed’ by a European style of easel painting and ‘possessed’ by local movements that demanded nationalist symbolism. Within this demanding context, it is no surprise that they decided to paint their dreams.

Keywords: Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar ; Global Modernism ; Ibrahim El-Salahi ; Modern Cuban Art ; Modern Egyptian Art ; Modern Sudanese Art ; Mysticism ; post-colonialism ; Surrealism ; Wifredo Lam