Frida Orupabo


Frida Orupabo is a Norwegian artist who makes work about identity, sexuality, race and belonging, using collage and video installation made from visual material found online. She is also a trained sociologist. Orupabo's mother is Norwegian and her father is Nigerian. She has had solo exhibitions at Fotomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland and at Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, and her work was shown in the 58th Venice Biennale. She has an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society in the UK.

Early life and education

Orupabo was born and grew up in Sarpsborg, Norway. She has a white Norwegian mother and a Black Nigerian father. She obtained a bachelor's degree in development studies then a master's degree in sociology from the University of Oslo.

Work

She was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize in 2023. The work—about identity, sexuality, race and belonging—was described by Sean O'Hagan in The Guardian as "sculptural photographic collages strange, hybrid creations Her raw material is sourced from the digital sphere – images found on social media, eBay and old colonial archives. Printed, cut out and then layered in segments, her collages have a distinctly old-fashioned, hands-on feel, but her mainly female figures are loaded with meaning, both personal and cultural."

Awards

She lives in Oslo, Norway.

Publications

Solo exhibitions

Orupabo's work is held in the following permanent collection: