Artist Database

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompasses drawing, painting, installation, and animation. Sunstrum was born in Mochudi, Botswana, and has lived across Africa, Southeast Asia and the United States. Rooted in autobiography and a critical engagement with historical systems of power, her work examines the formation of transnational identities and the interconnectedness of human experience.

She holds a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MFA from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Drawing on mythology, geology, and science fiction, Sunstrum constructs layered visual narratives set within landscapes that appear at once ancient and futuristic. Having lived in countries including Canada, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Malawi, South Africa, and the United States, she explores the complexities of identity, displacement, and belonging through a distinctly transnational perspective.

Sunstrum’s artwork has been presented in major international exhibitions, including the Liverpool Biennial (2023) and the Sharjah Biennial (2023), and is held in the collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Sunstrum currently lives and works in The Hague, the Netherlands.