Sudanese visual artist Yasmin Abdullah has commended Oman’s expanding art scene, emphasizing its dynamic and diverse nature alongside strong institutional support for creative expression. In a recent interview, Yasmin described the Sultanate’s cultural environment as one that offers artists substantial opportunities to explore contemporary artistic ideas while fostering meaningful dialogue.

Yasmin’s appreciation for Oman’s art landscape comes following her first solo exhibition in the country, held at the Ville Boutique Gallery. She characterized the event as a pivotal moment in her regional artistic journey, highlighting the growing involvement of the private sector in nurturing the cultural sector. According to her, galleries and cultural institutions throughout Oman provide platforms not only for artistic creation but also for human exchange and social engagement.

Drawing parallels between her Sudanese heritage and experiences in Oman, Yasmin underscored themes of identity and visual memory that resonate across both contexts. She praised prominent Omani artists such as Hafsa al Tamimi, Bashayer al Balushi, and Hamid al Aufi for their capacity to reinterpret traditional heritage through modern perspectives. For Yasmin, art in Oman transcends mere personal expression, evolving instead into a form of dialogue that enhances social awareness.

Her own artistic approach centers on a fluid concept of identity, viewing it as a shifting experience shaped by memory, time, and movement rather than a fixed notion. She explained that her Sudanese background is conveyed through emotional energy expressed via color and texture, rather than direct figurative representation. Yasmin, whose artistic foundations were influenced by her upbringing between Sudan and Qatar, employs a human-centered visual language to rethink familiar elements like figures, homes, and patterns through a contemporary framework. She often depicts ambiguous figures, inviting audiences to project their own experiences and reflect on broader human stories.

Yasmin describes her creative process as consisting of two phases: an initial stage driven by instinct and emotion, followed by careful reflection and compositional adjustment. She draws on influences from abstract expressionism and contemporary symbolism but treats these movements as flexible approaches rather than strict methodologies.

Poetry, particularly the work of late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, also plays an integral role in her practice. Yasmin engages with Darwish’s writings as an emotional conversation rather than literal illustration, translating themes of exile, memory, and human struggle into abstract visual forms.