Vanessa Baird, Go Down With Me, Munch Museum, Oslo
Vanessa Baird’s retrospective at Munch Museum confronts us with unyielding honesty. Her new pastel frieze, inspired by the massacre in Gaza, presents heart-wrenching scenes of human destruction. Yet, her work transcends mere documentation or protest. It captures a profound tension between our fascination with the frailty of the human body and a critique of forces that prey on the weak. Her immersive installations challenge us to examine our role as spectators, prompting us to decide if we are simply consumers of others’ pain or if we can engage in something much more profound.
Damir Avdagić, Prijenos (Transmission), Young Artists’ Society (UKS), Oslo
Damir Avdagić’s work appears simple but holds significant emotional weight. Contributors to his exhibition Prijenos (Transmission) share their mothers’ memories from the former Yugoslavia. Listening to these stories connects us across generations, linking those who experienced violence with those who carry its echoes. This work serves as a powerful reminder that memory is not just inherited; it is continually revisited, reshaped, and shared. It inspires us to honour the stories entrusted to us.
Maia Urstad, Do You Hear That Whistling Sound? Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo
Maia Urstad’s installation invites us on a meditative journey through sound and silence. It feels like stepping into an ongoing conversation where voices overlap, connect, and dissolve. In a world often filled with noise, her work emphasises the importance of listening as a deliberate and radical choice. It offers both urgency and comfort, creating a space for us to reconnect with the rhythms of human communication and reminding us to listen now, not later. Each of these works delivers a unique yet interconnected message: they encourage us to engage more deeply, feel more strongly, and remember more responsibly. This year, art has illuminated its power to reflect both the world as it is and the world we aspire to create, uniting us in our shared human experience.
Ayman Alazraq is an Oslo-based filmmaker, photographer, and mixed-media artist. His films have been screened at venues such as Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, the National Museum of Cinema in Turin, and Cologne International Videoart Festival. Alazraq has exhibited widely, both in Norway and abroad. His latest solo exhibition was The Lost Tapes of a People’s Tribunal 1982 at Fotogalleriet in Oslo earlier this year.
For this year’s contributions to the Advent Calendar, see here
