Dawn Without a Name

6 february – 10 april 2016

Throughout my career, I’ve paid attention to artists who use their practice to explore time and space, not in an astronomical sense but on an earthly, human level. Knutte Wester is such an artist.

Wester understands the importance of supporting the human experience and empowering those who have been disenfranchised and silenced by economic, political and xenophobic schemes.

Wester gives them dignity through being heard by sharing the stories of marginalized individuals struggling with dislocation and loss. But, just as importantly, he shows us the connection between seemingly disparate situations happening worldwide – from Sweden to Brooklyn.

Wester uses film, photography, and sculpture to provoke broader philosophical discussions about life and our obligations to each other as human beings. He offers an understanding that suffering, in all its forms, deserves consideration and response. This is both challenging and necessary.

– Dexter Wimberly, independent curator, NYC. 2016.

More information can be found in the Folder (available only in Swedish).

about the artist

Knutte Wester (born 1977) depicts the inadequacies of society by working with people who have suffered systematic injustice in various ways. Often, Wester’s projects begin by moving his work to places where individuals live far from the media radar, such as orphanages and refugee camps. Once there, he invites people into an open studio where the creative process occurs in close collaboration with the people the works are about. As a result, the stories leave their documentary origins and become existential thoughts and questions. He trained at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts and has participated in several groups and solo exhibitions, including in Moscow, Johannesburg, Gdansk, Stockholm, Västerås and Linköping.