Dawid

de Eva-Lena Karlsson, Magnus Olausson, Ingrid Lindell

Dawid (Björn Dawidsson, born 1949) is one of Sweden's leading contemporary photographers, known far beyond the country's borders for his abstract, avant-garde photography. He made his debut in 1973, but his real breakthrough came a decade later with an exhibition entitled Rost (Rust) at the former museum of photography, now incorporated into Moderna Museet. Then, as later in his career, Dawid showed how something that appears commonplace: a bent, rusty nail can be transformed into something unique and artistically expressive. In his subsequent works he has continued to challenge established concepts and to push the boundaries of photographic art. Dawid is not known for his portraits. Now, with the first full-scale exhibition of these works, visitors have the opportunity to discover a previously unknown aspect of his art. According to Dawid, pictures of friends were the starting point for most of the portraits. In many cases, he has used the same silhouette-like imagery as in his other works. Some of the portraits are reinterpretations of colleagues' images. In exceptional cases, such as his self-portrait, Dawid has abandoned the constraints of form and given free rein to emotions. Exhibition: Swedish National Portrait Gallery, Gripsholm Castle, Mariefred, Sweden (20.05.-27.08.2017).