Ahmed Umar lives in Norway and performs his Sudanese roots shaped by a childhood in Mecca, embodying queer histories of Muslim migration. Talitin, The Third (2023) enacts a Sudanese bridal dance that traditionally culminates weeklong wedding celebrations. Umar performs the bride expected to display her beauty and wealth while choreographing the newlyweds’ journey from courtship onwards. Talitin, meaning “third” in Arabic, alludes to a local insult – being “the third of the girls” – targeted at boys interested in so-called womanly activities. Through its wearables, fabrics, and braids, the artist reclaims a practice that he witnessed first hand from the women in his family – until his exclusion once he reached puberty. The songs played are a praise to the bride’s family and also the soundscape for her to showcase her new curves. For the performance, Umar increased his intake of Norwegian chocolates to enlarge his physical silhouette. The jewellery displayed comes from Cairo, a vital city in Umar’s practice and his diasporic gateway to today’s turmoiled Sudan.
This is the first time the work of Ahmed Umar is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Daniel Rey
