Adelaide Damoah
Encyclopedia
Adelaide Damoah is a British artist of Ghana
ian decent 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. Damoah has had four solo shows to date in the UK including Supermodels, Black Lipstick, and a domestic violence exhibition for registered charity, the National Centre for Domestic Violence. To date, Damoah has examined social issues in her work including issues regarding race, identity, sexuality, and domestic violence.
. The condition forced her to leave the industry and pursue oil painting to distract her from the pain of the illness.
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.
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 protestors, followed by a march to 10 Downing Street to hand a 13,000 signature petition to then Prime Minister Tony Blair
.
Damoah's second exhibition came in the form of "Supermodels" exhibited at Nolia's Gallery, London in 2008. 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 and "NCDV" in 2009." 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.
, Lucian Freud
, Damien Hirst
and Tracey Emin
as artistic influences.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian decent 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. Damoah has had four solo shows to date in the UK including Supermodels, Black Lipstick, and a domestic violence exhibition for registered charity, the National Centre for Domestic Violence. To date, Damoah has examined social issues in her work including issues regarding race, identity, sexuality, and domestic violence.
Education
Damoah studied Applied Biology at Kingston University in Surrey, England graduating with honours in 1999. Damoah has received no formal art education.Career
Damoah worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a medical representative for six years. During that time, Damoah was diagnosed with EndometriosisEndometriosis
Endometriosis is a gynecological medical condition in which cells from the lining of the uterus appear and flourish outside the uterine cavity, most commonly on the ovaries. The uterine cavity is lined by endometrial cells, which are under the influence of female hormones...
. The condition forced her to leave the industry and pursue oil painting to distract her from the pain of the illness.
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
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
. 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.
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 protestors, followed by a march to 10 Downing Street to hand a 13,000 signature petition to then Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
.
Damoah's second exhibition came in the form of "Supermodels" exhibited at Nolia's Gallery, London in 2008. The series of large oil paintings examined the size zero
Size Zero
Size 0 is a women's clothing size in the US catalog sizes system. Size 0 and 00 were invented due to the changing of clothing sizes over time , which has caused the adoption of lower numbers...
debate which became a popular social debate in 2006. Subsequent exhibitions include "Black Lipstick" in 2008 and "NCDV" in 2009." 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.
Influences
Damoah cites Frida KahloFrida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
, Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
, Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
and Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
as artistic influences.