OPENING: Looming/Looping

Welcome to the opening of 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜/𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜, with 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐣𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐧 & 𝐍𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐦, an exhibition curated by 𝐇å𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧!

𝘌𝘟𝘏𝘐𝘉𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 𝘗𝘌𝘙𝘐𝘖𝘋: 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 22-𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 11
𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘛 𝘈𝘙𝘛 𝘍𝘈𝘐𝘙: 13 𝘵𝘰 17


The meeting point between artists Niels Munk Plum and Damien Ajavon in 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜/𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 is their shared interest in highlighting the physical labour of their artistic work, and resistance to categorisation. Trained respectively in fine art, and arts and craft, Plum and Ajavon seek to confront notions of craftsmanship as it relates to the concept of expertise, as it creates and maintains hierarchies within artistic labour.

It marks the first presentation of Damien Ajavon’s work in Denmark after two years of successive exhibitions and large-scale commissions in Norway and abroad, and is Niels Munk Plum’s first exhibition in Denmark after recent performance commissions for Heartland Festival and Art Hub Copenhagen.

Developed in dialogue with curator Håkon Lillegraven, 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜/𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 is the result of a longer period of conversation and reflection on what is experienced as meaningful in their practices and how to merge their artistic worlds together. The exhibition’s focus is not on “finished” artworks, but highlighting the physical labour, material experimentation, and self-reflexiveness behind them.

The exhibition at Collega is conceived especially for its dual function as both a gallery and shared work space.


𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 @𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.
𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴: 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 13:00-17:00 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 (𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰@𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢.𝘥𝘬)


𝘈𝘊𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞𝘓𝘌𝘋𝘎𝘌𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘚
𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜/𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 has been developed in dialogue with artistic director Jari Malta and realised with support from Danish Arts Foundation (Statens Kunstfond), Augustinus Fonden, the New Carlsberg Foundation, Arts Council Norway, Norwegian Crafts, and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Collega's operational budget and programme is generously supported by Danish Arts Foundation (Statens Kunstfond) and William Demant Fonden.
The artists and curator also want to extend their thanks to Gudbrandsdalens Uldvarefabrik for their generous donation of materials to Damien Ajavon’s works.

An earlier iteration of 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜/𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 was exhibited as part of the exhibition programme of BO (The Association of Visual Artists Oslo) January-February 2025, organised with director Una Mathiesen Gjerde and gallery coordinator Mathea Saric.


𝘉𝘐𝘖𝘎𝘙𝘈𝘗𝘏𝘐𝘌𝘚
𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐣𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐧 (b.1990, they/them) is an Afropean textile artist originally from Paris, now living and working between Noresund and Skien. As a dedicated artist, their creations are a testament to personal exploration and a passion for sharing stories through the transformative power and mutable qualities of textiles. At the core is a desire to merge cultures to create something new and beautiful. Rooted in their heritage, drawing on African and Western cultures and queer communities, Ajavon’s practice with textiles serves as a medium for culturally representative pieces that merge generations of African craftsmanship with diasporic and transoceanic perspectives. Their work explores the tactile manipulation of textile fibers, with a creative process deeply influenced by the interplay of visual and sensory experiences.
With a MA in Textile from the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo, Ajavon’s work has in recent years been featured in group and solo exhibitions as well as artist residencies across North America, Europe, and Africa, amongst them Oslo Kunstforening (Oslo), Spriten Kunsthall (Skien), AiR Green (Noresund), Fotogalleriet (Oslo), Future Fair (New York), MK&G messe (Hamburg ), and Billedkunstnerne i Oslo. In the spring of 2025 they have had solo presentations at Kunsthall Oslo (Oslo), cc-tapis (Milan), and the Hannah Ryggen Triennale (Trondheim). Their work is part of the public collections of the City of Oslo and KpA – Kunst på arbeidsplassen (“Art in the workplace”), and a large-scale art commission for the new government quarter by KORO - Public Art Norway, solidifying their contribution to contemporary textile art in Norway.

𝐍𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐦 (b. 1992, he/him) works in the intersection between language, gestures, symbols, and colours. Through actions, performances, sculptures, and installations, he creates events and situations wherein we can form new narratives whilst reimagining systems of power, the logic of language, and our assigned, often normative roles and performances.
Situated within a process-based discourse, Niels recently presented the performance 7 CIRCLES at Thoravej 29 in collaboration with Art Hub Copenhagen, where he was also a resident in the fall of ’24. He has shown the performance NEW LOOP at Heartland Festival, with LARS in Lisbon, and at the opening of the National Museum in Oslo, where he was one of three artists commissioned to create new performance pieces. His graduation project RIGID ROOM was shown as part of Konstväxlingar at Odenplan metro platform in Stockholm. He has also staged works at institutions such as Podium and Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, Runde Taarn in Copenhagen, and has produced several artist zines and publications.
Niels holds an MFA from Malmö Art Academy and a BFA from Oslo National Academy of Fine Art. He is currently living and working in Copenhagen.

𝐇å𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 (b.1992, he/him) is a curator, art mediator and writer currently living and working in Oslo, Norway. He holds a special interest in queer, norm-critical, and performative practices, and artistic practitioners and stakeholders within these. This most often manifests in new performance production and interdisciplinary public programming. In 2023 he was a curatorial resident at ISCP – International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York City, and in 2024, he curated the graduate exhibition The World Is A Knot in Motion by MA Arts and Crafts and MA Art and Public Space at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Collaboratively, Håkon has co-founded platforms such as Ergi, and has curated exhibitions and public programmes for museums, medium-sized institutions, and artist-run spaces. He is currently Curator of Education and Public Programmes at the National Museum (Nasjonalmuseet) in Oslo, Norway, where he in 2025 is part of launching a new performance programme and curating the public programme for the exhibition project Deviant Ornaments.

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