Damien AJavon BIOGRAPHY

 

Damien Ajavon (they/them) is a queer textile artist, born in France, of Senegalese and Togolese origin; currently based in Oslo, Norway. His work explores the different methods in which textile fibers can be manipulated by hand: knotted, braided, tangled, and woven.

The interaction between visual and tactile experiences has always played an important role in his process; he uses his African and western influences as a vehicle for his textile storytelling and as visual markers of his creative approaches. It is through textile languages ​​rather than oral ones that Damien has been unearthing and weaving connections with his ancestry.

He has accumulated substantial experience internationally that honed his expertise and technique. He learned to weave hemp, dye cashmere in Italy and work with feathers. (Bevagna, Sant'Anatolia DI Narco, Florence), felting hats and making accessories in Quebec, pattern making and knitwear in New York City, Digital knitting in Norway and Manjak tradition weaving in Senegal.

Damien grounds his practice by positioning himself in the world through his heritage by his African and Western influences as a tool to create textiles that represent them. Not only that, but by a strong desire to merge generations of African craftsmanship with my diasporic and transoceanic knowledge and experiences through textiles.