Fathi Hassan is of Nubian origin. He took his diploma at Naples Art School in 1984 and in 1988 represented Africa at the Aperto '88 section, Venice Bienniale. Since 1989, his work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt and New York. He has lived in Italy since 1979, working between Fano and Milan. His work often addresses the relations of power between oral practices and the written word, with particular emphasis upon the plight of lost languages in the face of the domination of imperial languages (taking the case of Nubia as a prime example). Most of his scripts are deliberately illegible, invented forms that allude to kufic calligraphy but yield little direct access to information. Thus, the play between graphic symbolism and literal meaning and the largely European assumptions that the written holds the best access to reality are constantly questioned.

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Lo sguardo versa l'ignoto (Glance toward the Unknown), 1985

1985
Photographic still from video installation
Collection of the artist,
courtesy Sala Uno

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Egypt Il passo storico dell'uomo leggero (The Light Man's Historical Footstep),

1985
Photographic still from video installation
Collection of the artist,
courtesy Sala Uno

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Untitled

2005
Mixed Media
Site-specific installation for the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

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