Esmaa Mohamoud (b. 1992 London, ON, Canada; based in Brooklyn, NY) is a conceptual artist working at the intersection of sculpture and installation. Her sculptures explore the politics of race and identity through references to and recontextualization of objects from popular culture. Making use of materials that carry both personal and historical significance, Mohamoud creates symbolically rich and metaphorically complex works that consider the legacy of racial violence and the possibilities for future renewal.
Recent exhibitions include Glorious Bones, Museum London, London, UK (2025); What Does Webster’s Say About Soul?, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles (2025); Sport and Spectator, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS (2025); Thick as Thieves, The Whyte, Banff, Alberta, Canada (2026); Complex Dreams, MSU Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, MI (2024); Sports Culture, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA (2024), which traveled to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR (2025) and The Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL (2026); and Esmaa Mohamoud: To Play in the Face of Certain Defeat (2019-2022), Museum London, Ontario, Canada, which traveled to Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ottawa Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery and Art Gallery of Alberta, Canada.
Mohamoud’s work is featured in numerous public collections, including National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing; and Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Esmaa Mohamoud
I Can't Forget You (My Whole World Turns Blue), 2025
Shea butter, beeswax, damar resin, charred animal bones and blue light
60 x 42 x 16 in (152.4 x 106.7 x 40.6 cm)
Esmaa Mohamoud
I'm A Part of You Indefinitely, 2025
Shea butter, beeswax, damar resin and tulip petals
Overall:61 x 180 x 75 in (154.9 x 457.2 x 190.5 cm)
Figure 1: 61 x 20 x 16 in (154.9 x 50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Figure 2: 57 x 16 x 16 in (144.8 x 40.6 x 40.6 cm)
Esmaa Mohamoud
...NUMB, 2025
Shea butter, beeswax, damar resin and rock pigeon
25 x 23 x 18 in (63.5 x 58.4 x 45.7 cm)
Esmaa Mohamoud
How Sweet It Would Be If I Found I Could Fly, 2024
(Figure) Shea butter, charred bones, damar resin, wax, 21K gold earrings
58 x 14 in (147.32 x 35.56 cm)
Esmaa Mohamoud,
Ebony Ivory, I, 2022
Shea butter, wax, damar resin, Italian black marble, brass
60 x 30 in (152.4 x 76.2 cm)
Esmaa Mohamoud
From the Ground We Fall, 2019
Repurposed football equipment, chairs, wax cloth
Dimensions variable
Esmaa Mohamoud
Deeper the Wounded, Deeper the Roots (Series), 2019
Archival pigment print
62 x 41 x 2 in (157.48 x 104.14 x 5.08 cm)
Esmaa Mohamoud
Glorious Bones, 2019
Repurposed helmets, wax cloth, steel, recycled tires
Dimensions variable
Unique set of 46
Esmaa Mohamoud
One Of The Boys (Series), 2017-2019
Archival pigment print
64 x 41 x 2 in (162.56 x 104.14 x 5.08 cm)
Roberts Projects is pleased to announce its representation of Esmaa Mohamoud. This announcement follows the gallery’s first solo exhibition with the artist in 2025, What Does Webster’s Say About Soul?
Known for her conceptual practice that incorporates familiar objects and symbols from Black visual culture—including football equipment, peacock chairs, lowriders, butterflies and shea butter—Mohamoud reimagines her source materials by transforming their scale and layering cultural references to recontextualize their conventional meaning.
