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Frida Orupabo

Frida Orupabo’s works are, in some sense, solutions to problems; the problems being that certain images do not exist and need to be created. Working mainly with collage, but also spanning sculpture and video, Orupabo’s work synthesises fragments of bodies to reconstruct narratives and imagine new configurations of subjectivity denied by colonial legacies. More often than not, the figures in Orupabo’s images are Black women, although the categorisation of gender, race and family heritage are not only questioned; they become the locus of her explorations. Mining digital archives mostly online, Orupabo’s process starts on a small-scale, collaging images on screen, but these often grow into much bigger, life-sized characters in the room. Enlarged, printed in tiles, cut out, and then pinned together, Orupabo’s process of combining images retains a hand-made simplicity, which carries within it a sense of possibility for play, experimentation and spontaneity. This liveliness is joined by a depth of difficult emotion held in her subjects – rage, sadness, or desolation, for instance - whose faces stare back, as though to a challenge their viewers to a duel.

Born in Norway of dual Norwegian and Nigerian heritage, Orupabo began making collages in her early twenties as a means to work through her own complex relationship to home and identity. Later, Orupabo studied sociology and worked as a social worker, and began to publish her archive of collected and reconstructed images on Instagram. Her account, @nemiepeba, began anonymously and quietly as a collection of working images for a small audience, but soon grew in its following. Since her inclusion in Arthur Jafa’s exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in 2017, Orupabo has exhibited widely internationally.

Frida Orupabo was born in 1986 in Sarpsborg and lives and works in Oslo. Selected solo exhibitions include Modern Art, London (2023); Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York, NY, USA (2022); Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (2022); Kunsthall Trondheim, Norway (2021); Stevenson, Johannesurg, South Africa (2020); Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2019); and Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany (2019). Selected group exhibitions include Goldsmiths CCA, London (2023); The Photographers’ Gallery, London (2023); Modern Art, London (2022); Kiasma Finnish National Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2022); Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg, Sweden (2021); Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2020); Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (2019), Serpentine Gallery, London (2017). She has participated in the Munch Triennial, Munchmuseet, Oslo, Norway (2022); 34th Bienal de São Paulo, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo, Brazil (2021); and the 58th International Art Exhibition, Biennale Arte, Venice, Italy (2019). In 2024, a major solo exhibition of her work will open at Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden.

Press
Biography
Things I saw at night, Modern Art, 2023
Three Legged Woman, 2022
collage with paper pins on birch plywood panel, 99 x 148 cm, 39 x 58 1/4 in
1/3
Leading the Blind, 2022
collage with paper pins on birch plywood panel, 235.5 x 185 cm, 92 3/4 x 72 7/8 in
1/3
Eye, 2022
collage with paper pins on birch plywood panel, 30 x 60 cm, 11 3/4 x 23 5/8 in
1/3
Ritual, 2022
collage with paper pins on birch plywood panel, 76 x 58 cm, 29 7/8 x 22 7/8 in
1/3
Car Ride, 2022
collage with paper pins on birch plywood panel, 97 x 230 cm, 38 1/4 x 90 1/2 in
1/3
Turning, 2021
wallpaper, dimensions variable
1/2
You Better Know, 2022
collage with paper pins on birch plywood panel, 197 x 117 cm, 77 1/2 x 46 in
1/3
Sandwoman, 2022
collage with paper pins on birch plywood panel, 190 x 142 cm, 77 1/8 x 57 1/8 in
1/3
Helping Hands, 2022
collage with paper pins, 243 x 186 cm, 95 5/8 x 73 1/4 in
1/3
Untitled, 2018
multimedia on Lenovo tablets, variable duration
Leda and the Swan, 2021
collage with paper pins, mounted on aluminium, 94 x 67 cm, 37 x 26 3/8 in
On her mind, 2022
collage with paper pins, 255 x 78 cm, 100 3/8 x 30 3/4 in
1/3
Company, 2022
collage with paper pins, 96 x 99 cm, 37 3/4 x 39 in
1/3
Discipline, 2022
collage with paper pins, 58 x 100 cm, 22 7/8 x 39 3/8 in
Baby in Belly, 2020
collage with paper pins, 60 x 122 cm, 23 5/8 x 48 in
1/3
Three Legged Woman, 2022 (detail)
I have seen a million pictures of my face and still I have no idea, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland, 2022

Press

Hyperallergic1 June 2023
Guardian1 March 2023
Art Review1 May 2023
Art Monthly1 May 2023
Artforum1 May 2023
AnOther1 May 2023
Frieze1 May 2022
Brooklyn Rail1 April 2022
Bomb1 July 2020
Artforum1 March 2019

Biography

Frida Orupabo

Born in Sarpsborg, Norway, 1986 Lives and works in Oslo, Norway

Solo Exhibitions

2025
Sprengel Museum
Hanover, Germany (forthcoming)
2024
On Lies, Secrets and SilenceBonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden, travelling to Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway
All is broken in the nightGalerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
2023
Fear of Fear
Galerie Nordenhake, Mexico City, Mexico
Things I saw at nightModern Art, London
2022
I've been here for days
Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
How fast shall we sing
Mécanique Générale, Arles Les Rencontres De La Photographie, Arles, France
Closed up like a fist
Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York, NY, USA
How fast shall we sing
Galerie Nordenhake, Stockholm, Sweden
I have seen a million pictures of my face and still I have no ideaFotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland
2021
How did you feel when you come out of the wildernessKunsthall Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway
Frida OrupaboMuseo Afro Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil
2020
12 Self-Portraits
Gavin Brown's Enterprise, Rome, Italy
Hours After
Stevenson, Johannesburg, South Africa
KOENIG2 by_robbygreif
Christine König Galerie, Vienna, Austria
2019
A house is a house
Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
the mouth and the truthPortikus, Frankfurt, Germany
2018
Two-Thirds Pleasure
Galerie Nordenhake, Stockholm, Sweden
Cables to Rage
Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, NY, USA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024
Pansori – a soundscape of the 21st century
15th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
2023
Talking Bodies – Körperbilder im PlakatMuseum für Gestaltung Zurich, Switzerland
Her Voice - Echoes of Chantal AkermanPhotography Museum Antwerp, Belgium
Modern Art
Paris, France
Stranger in the VillageAargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
The Rose
Lumber Room, Portland, OR, USA
Unruly BodiesGoldsmiths CCA, London
I See the Face of Things to Come
PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin, Ireland
An Unlimited Idea of the North, curated by Ivo BonacorsiLe Nouveau Printemps, Festival de Créatiton Contemporaine, Toulouse, France
Black Venus
Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA, USA
The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023The Photographers’ Gallery, London, travelling to Muzeum Fotografii w Krakowie, Krakow, Poland
Frida Orupabo, Mawande Ka Zenzile, Simphiwe Ndzube, Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi
Kiang Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong, China
FLIGHTMalmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden
Chrysalis: The Butterfly DreamCentre d’art Contemporain Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
European Month of Photography: Rethinking Identity: Je est un autre
MNHA Musée national d’histoire et d’art, Luxembourg
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Humlebaek, Denmark
Before TomorrowAstrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway
Tracing FragmentsGerðarsafn, Kópavogur Art Museum, Iceland
2022
Ghostscript
Modern Art, London
Okayama Art Summit: Do we dream under the same sky
Okayama, Japan
Changes
mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Austria
The Animal Within - Creatures in (and outside) the mumok CollectionMumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Austria
Women and Change
Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj, Denmark
North Atlantic Triennial: Down NorthPortland Museum of Art, Portland, USA, travelling to: Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland; Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden
Future Generation Art Prize
Venice, Italy
Where do I begin
Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
Customs
A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa
Afterimage
MAXXI Museum, L’Aquila, Italy
Currency: 8th Triennial of PhotographyHamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Hannah Ryggen Triennial: Anti-MonumentTrondheim and Ørland, Norway
ARS22: Living EncountersMuseum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland
2021
Works on Paper
Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
Maternar
University Museum Contemporary Art, Mexico City, Mexico
How to Make A Country
FRAC, Poitou-Charentes, Linazay, France
My Whole Body Changed Into Something Else
Stevenson, Johannesburg, South Africa
Jack Davison, Omer Fast, Frida Orupabo
Deichtorhallen, Internationale Kunst und Fotografie, Hamburg, Germany
Not Without Joy
Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic
A boundless idea of North
Munch Studio, Ekely, Norway
Mother!Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany, travelled to: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo
Mexico City, Mexico
Though it’s dark, still I sing34a Bienal São Paulo, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Dear Truth
Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg, Sweden
Future Generation Art Prize
Pinchuk Art Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine
2020
We Fight to Build a Free World, curated by Jonathan Horowitz
Jewish Museum, New York, NY, USA
Infinite Identities / Photography in the Age of Sharing
Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Summer Exhibition 2020
Royal Academy of Arts, London
Resistant FacesPinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
What is the present?
Museum für Gegenwartkunst, Siegen, Germany
Dynamic Spaces
Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
2019
Medicine for a Nightmare, with Arthur JafaKunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway
Rock My Soul, curated by Isaac Julien
Victoria Miro, London
Sell it with Flowers
The Museum of Art and History of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
2018
Putting Out
Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, NY, USA
2017
Arthur Jafa: A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary RenditionsSerpentine Gallery, London, travelled to: Julia Stoschek Collection, Berlin, Germany; Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; OGR, Turin, Italy

Selected Collections

21C Hotel Museum
Louisville, KY, USA
A4 Arts Foundation
Cape Town, South Africa
Alexander Tutsek-Foundation
Munich, Germany
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art
Oslo, Norway
Dean Collection
Englewood, NJ, USA
Fotomuseum Winterthur
Winterthur, Switzerland
Foundation ARCO
Madrid, Spain
Göteborgs Konstmuseum
Gothenburg, Sweden
Guggenheim Museum
New York, NY, USA
Jumex Museum
Mexico City, Mexico
Kadist Foundation
Paris, France
KIASMA
Helsinki, Finland
Kistefos Collection
Jevnaker, Norway
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Humlebaek, Denmark
Marieuse Hessel Collection
Annandale-On-Hudson, NY, USA
Moderna Museet
Stockholm, Sweden
Mumok - Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
Vienna, Austria
Museum Ludwig
Cologne, Germany
Museum Rietberg
Zürich, Switzerland
Nasjonalmuseet
Oslo, Norway
Perez Art Museum
Miami, FL, USA
Scheryn Collection
Cape Town, South Africa
Studio Museum in Harlem
New York, NY, USA
Tate
London
Turku Art Museum
Turku, Finland
Verbund Collection
Vienna, Austria