Past Residents
Past Resident2012: Foundation for a Civil Society
Olson Lamaj
Olson Lamaj works in several media including photography, video, painting and installation, though his work is typically serial photography executed over a long period of time. In addition, he makes site-specific work when inspired by a physical place. His training in the Italian academy has deeply impacted his practice, not only in his treatment of photography as an art medium, but also in his ability to notice and capture the absurdities, ironies, and contradictions that are a result of the unregulated and fast-paced change that characterizes contemporary urban Albania. As an artist who lives between two different worlds, Lamaj is sensitive to these transformations and shares the peculiar visions that this position affords him.
Born and raised in Albania, Olson Lamaj studied visual art in Milan where he has worked and lived for several years. He has participated in various exhibitions throughout Europe and in his native Albania.
Events & Exhibitions
Salon: Tomaz Furlan and Olson Lamaj
October 9, 2012
Olson Lamaj, Torso 1, 2006, Digital photo, 391/2 × 271/2 in. (100.33 × 69.85 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Olson Lamaj, Shqipe, 2006, Digital photo, 391/2 × 271/2 in. (100.33 × 69.85 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Olson Lamaj, Photo Eater, 2011, Stop-motion video. Courtesy of the artist.
Olson Lamaj, Photo Eater. Courtesy of the artist.
Olson Lamaj, Albania From the Street, 2012, Photo book, 1113/16 × 85/16 in. (29.97 × 21.08 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Residents from Albania
Past Resident2013: Hasselblad Foundation
Tonje Bøe Birkeland
Tonje Bøe Birkeland constructs characters through photography, text, and objects. Her female figures balance on the border between fiction and reality. The landscapes work as a stage and reflect on the making of photographs: character, creator, camera and their common act of travel. The photographs show gaps and parallels in the friction between past and present, one society and another, a human being and a character from the past.
Tonje Bøe Birkeland (born 1985 Bergen, Norway) received an MA in Fine Art from Bergen Academy of Art and Design in 2012. The same year, she was also awarded the Hasselblad Foundation’s Victor Fellowship for the work Tuva Tengel (1901-1985) Letters from Mongolia exhibited as part of the exhibition New Nordic Photography at the Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg. Birkeland has been a part of many group shows in Sweden. She was selected to exhibit her work Aline Victoria Birkeland – The Unknown Adventurer at the Bergen Museum, 2011. She has also participated in group shows at Horizonte, Zingst, Germany and Goldener Kentaur, Munich.
Tonje Bøe Birkeland. Courtesy of the artist.
Tonje Bøe Birkeland. Courtesy of the artist.
Tonje Bøe Birkeland. Courtesy of the artist.
Tonje Bøe Birkeland. Courtesy of the artist.
Tonje Bøe Birkeland. Courtesy of the artist.
Past Resident2013: The Ernst & Olga Gubler-Hablützel Foundation, City of Bern
Quynh Dong
Quynh Dong often performs as herself in her work. She uses elements from her singing and acting experience gained while working at the Zürich Opera House and The Schauspielhaus Zürich to touch on topics such as arrival, longing, paradise, memory, and identity.
Quynh Dong (born 1982, Hai Phong, Vietnam) holds a degree in graphic design from the Design School in Biel/Bienne, a BFA from Bern University of Arts and an MFA from Zurich University of the Arts. In August 2010, Dong won a workshop grant from the BINZ39 Foundation in Zurich where she worked until July 2012. In 2011, she was the recipient of a fellowship at Sommerakademie, Bern. During 2012, Dong’s work was shown at New Jerseyy, Basel; Lucy Mackintosh Gallery, Lausanne; BINZ39, Zürich; Galerie Bernhard Bischoff & Partner, Bern; LISTE17 – The young art fair in Basel; Kunstraum Baden, and Sinopale, Sinop.
Quynh Dong, My Paradise, 2012, Video installation, 15 min. Courtesy of the artist.
Quynh Dong, Drunger and Drueber, 2012, Performance, 15 min. Courtesy of the artist.
Quynh Dong, My Everything, 2012, Performance, 15:30 min. Courtesy of the artist.
Quynh Dong, Let Me Hear Your Voice, 2012, Video, 15 min. Courtesy of the artist.
Quynh Dong, Let Me Hear Your Voice, 2012, Performance, 90 min. Courtesy of the artist.
