SOLO OSLODamien Ajavon
Damien Ajavon is the sixth artist in MUNCH’s critically acclaimed SOLO OSLO series. SOLO OSLO is part of MUNCH's commitment to developing the local art scene by providing emerging artists with the opportunity to show new works in a solo exhibition at the museum. The exhibitions take place on 10th floor of the museum, where the unique, eight-meter-high space “in the kink” of the building invites a range of spectacular installations.
Damien Ajavon creates an immersive installation that engages several senses. Using textiles and sculpture as a starting point, they also explore other approaches and materials.
'It is a fantasy world that feels familiar yet strangely unreal, as if we find ourselves in a liminal place between reality and dreaming. The space is inhabited by mysterious hybrid creatures, evoking ancient spirits or forgotten mythological beings,' says Ajavon.
A solo exhibition at a museum is an important step in an artist’s career. The enhanced professional support around the artist can garner greater visibility and attention both within the art field and among wider audiences. MUNCH also uses its network and global reach to promote the artist internationally.
'Damien Ajavon is one of the most exciting artists to emerge on the Oslo scene in recent years – with an acute attention to the materiality of their work and a deep reflection around what their work can represent on so many different levels. Damien has shown in a number of important exhibitions in small and medium-sized institutions locally, and has demonstrated a potential to scale up their practice to meet the demands of the gallery at MUNCH. We are very excited to work with Damien on developing a new installation for the museum’s SOLO OSLO series.', says Tominga O’Donnell, Senior Curator and Head of Contemporary Art at MUNCH.
SOLO OSLO is made possible through the generous support of Talent Norge and private benefactors.
About Damien Ajavon:
Damien Ajavon (b.1990 in Paris, they/them) is an artist living and working in Oslo. Their practice explores personal and cultural narratives through the transformative and mutable qualities of textiles, driven by a desire to merge cultures into new forms.
Rooted in African and Western traditions and queer communities, Ajavon’s work bridges generations of African craftsmanship with diasporic and transoceanic perspectives. Through tactile manipulation of textile fibers, their process is deeply influenced by visual and
sensory experience.
Ajavon holds an MA in Textile from the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo. Their work has been shown in group exhibitions and residencies including Oslo Kunstforening, AiR Green (Noresund), BO-Billedkunstnerne i Oslo, Spriten Kunsthall (Skien), Fotogalleriet (Oslo), Future Fair (New York) and Tensta Kunsthall (Stockholm). Recently, Ajavon has presented solo projects at MK&G (Hamburg), Kunsthall Oslo, cc-tapis (Milan), and the Hannah Ryggen Triennale in Trondheim.
Their work is held in public collections, including those of the City of Oslo and KpA, the Textile Museum Tilburg (Netherlands) and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington, D.C.). Ajavon was also commission by KORO – Public Art Norway to create work for the new government quarter in Oslo.
