fellows

Foto: Ingrid Eggen

Damir Avdagić was born in 1987, Banja Luka, BiH. In 1993 his family fled to Norway during the war in the former Yugoslavia. He lives and works in Oslo, Norway.

Damir Avdagić is educated at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (MFA, 2008-2014) and at The University of California (MFA, 2013-2016) He is a Fulbright Fellow and recipient of other grants from the Norway-America Foundation, Office of Contemporary Art & Norwegian Cultural Council to mention a few.

He´s been a resident at ISCP, New York (2016-2017) 18th Street Art Center, Santa Monica (2019-2020) and WIELS Center for Contemporary Art, Brussels (2022)

Avdagić’s work has been shown at Whitechapel Gallery, London, Changwon Sculpture Biennale, South Korea, Kunsthall Charlottenborg Copenhagen & Kristiansand Kunsthall Norway amongst many others. He was awarded the BKH’s Photo Art Prize at Fotogalleriet, Oslo in 2014.

Artist's webpage and Instagram.

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1. Prevodenje (Translation) 2014; 2.-3. Repriza_Uzvracanje (Reprise_Response) 2018; 4.-6. Prolazi izmedju 1980-2021 (Passages between 1980-2021) 2021; 7.-9. Prijenos (Overføring) 2024 (All photos: Damir Avdagic)
Artist statement

Damir Avdagić’s practice explores themes of historical memory and identity through text, performance and video. The conflict in Ex-Yugoslavia (1991-1995) makes up the central part of Avdagić’s family history and he uses this event as an entry point to address themes such as shifting political systems, migration and the relationship between generations.

Avdagić’s main material is words; spoken narratives which he collects through conversations with members of the Ex-Yugoslav community.  This material is activated through various strategies of performance (re-enactments, translations, readings etc.) and developed into moving image installations. In his work narratives become transmissible between “author” and performer. By having members of one generation perform the words and actions of another, Avdagić reflects on history and its echoes in the present. All the participants in Avdagić's work are tied to the same history.

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ALL generations:
other generations: