Adelaide Damoah

Adelaide Damoah (born c. 1977, London)[1] is a British artist of Ghanaian descent whose work combines African and Western influences while highlighting social issues. Damoah's debut exhibition entitled "Black Brits," took place in 2006 in Islington in London, UK.[2] Damoah has had four solo shows to date in the UK [3] including Supermodels, Black Lipstick, and a domestic violence exhibition for registered charity, the National Centre for Domestic Violence.[4]

Education

Damoah studied Applied Biology at Kingston University in Surrey, England graduating with honours in 1999. Damoah has received no formal art education.[5][2]

Career

Damoah worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a medical representative for six years. During that time, Damoah was diagnosed with Endometriosis. The condition forced her to leave the industry and pursue oil painting to distract her from the pain of the illness.[6]

In 2006, Damoah independently funded and curated her debut exhibition Black Brits. The Black Brits exhibition sought to examine the role of race and identity in iconography. The series, through a series of portraits sought to question whether the race of major British icons as diverse as the Krays and David Beckham were relevant to their given status as icons by painting them with reversed skin colours.[1]

On March 6, 2006, Damoah arranged a demonstration at Parliament Square as part of Endometriosis awareness week with Endometriosis charity Endometriosis UK. The event was marked by a communal SCREAM with protesters, followed by a march to 10 Downing Street to hand a 13,000 signature petition to then Prime Minister Tony Blair.[7]

Damoah's second exhibition came in the form of "Supermodels" exhibited at Nolia's Gallery, London in 2008.[8] The series of large oil paintings examined the size zero debate which became a popular social debate in 2006. Subsequent exhibitions include "Black Lipstick" in 2008 [9] and "NCDV" in 2009.[10]" Damoah was invited to Hungary in 2009 to take part in an exhibition entitled "British Art in the Twenty First Century" at Opera Gallery in Budapest.[11]

Damoah cites Frida Kahlo, Lucian Freud and Damien Hirst as artistic influences.[12] To date, Damoah has examined social issues in her work including issues regarding race, identity, sexuality, and domestic violence.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Exhibition Hat-Trick for Essex Painter Adelaide Damoah", Overground Online, 15 October 2008. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 River Newspaper February 2006 http://www.damoaharts.com/press/docs/0602_river_newspaper_kingston.jpg
  3. ↑ Adelaide Damoah Official Website Exhibitions page http://www.damoaharts.com/exhibitions/
  4. ↑ National Centre for Domestic Violence website http://www.ncdv.org.uk/artsevent.html
  5. ↑ 234 NEXT Studio Visit with Adelaide Damoah http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/Art/5493591-147/story.csp
  6. ↑ Mimi Magazine 2006 http://www.mimimagazine.com/may2006/02-05-damoahart01.html
  7. ↑ Endometriosis Awareness Week 2006 http://endometriosis.org/news/support-awareness/endometriosis-awareness-week-creates-noise-light-and-hope/
  8. ↑ Art Rabbit Event http://www.artrabbit.com/events/event/6998/supermodels
  9. ↑ Overground Online http://www.overgroundonline.com/news-1044/exhibition-hat-trick-for-essex-painter-adelaide-damoah.html
  10. ↑ BBC Radio interview http://www.ncdv.org.uk/audio/BBC%20Radio%20SCR%2016-10-09.mp3
  11. ↑ Opera Gallery Budapest http://operagallery-e.shp.hu/hpc/web.php?a=operagallery-e&o=tv_reports_yBs
  12. ↑ "Adelaide Damoah, the eye opener", News Africa, October 2008, page 5.