damali ayo

A lot of the details in this profile have been scammed from online articles, ideally in the future profilees will have time to write a couple paragraphs about themselves. damali is originally from Washington, DC and has lived in Portland since 1997.

damali's artwork focuses on race issues that still permeate our society. From the Willamette Week review of her work at the Mark Wooley gallery: "In her short career, ayo has compared Mickey Mouse's visage to Al Jolson's blackface, handed out nametags at her shows reading "Hello, My Race is...," deconstructed the lyrics of the Rolling Stones song "Brown Sugar" onto sugar packets, and made a quilt using photographs of celebrities with whom her looks are often compared. (Her work at Mark Woolley usually runs $200-$500 a piece.)"

She has created intriguing, visually arresting spectacles that capture the viewers attention and won't let go. If I were an art critic I'd do a better job of deconstructing the work but I'm not so I'll leave it at that.

Photos from Willamette Week.

damali works in many different artistic mediums. When I checked out her work at First Thursday many months ago in Portland, the line to listen to damali's audio recordings was almost an hour long (see the picture below). I wasn't unique in this regard: her work has been featured in several local publications, including these articles:

Portland's Artistic Immigrants, a Willamette Week cover story.

NW Scuttle's review of damali's show at the Mark Woolley Gallery.

For more images of damali's work, please check out her website at www.damaliayo.com.

This profile was written by Sam Blackman, July 20, 2002.

A lot of the details in this profile have been scammed from online articles, ideally in the future profilees will have time to write a couple paragraphs about themselves. damali is originally from Washington, DC and has lived in Portland since 1997.

		damali's artwork focuses on race issues that still permeate our society. From the Willamette Week review of her work at the Mark Wooley gallery: "In her short career, ayo has compared Mickey Mouse's visage to Al Jolson's blackface, handed out nametags at her shows reading "Hello, My Race is...," deconstructed the lyrics of the Rolling Stones song "Brown Sugar" onto sugar packets, and made a quilt using photographs of celebrities with whom her looks are often compared. (Her work at Mark Woolley usually runs $200-$500 a piece.)" She has created intriguing, visually arresting spectacles that capture the viewers attention and won't let go. If I were an art critic I'd do a better job of deconstructing the work but I'm not so I'll leave it at that.
Photos from Willamette Week.
damali works in many different artistic mediums. When I checked out her work at First Thursday many months ago in Portland, the line to listen to damali's audio recordings was almost an hour long (see the picture below). I wasn't unique in this regard: her work has been featured in several local publications, including these articles:
Portland's Artistic Immigrants, a Willamette Week cover story. NW Scuttle's review of damali's show at the Mark Woolley Gallery. For more images of damali's work, please check out her website at www.damaliayo.com. This profile was written by Sam Blackman, July 20, 2002.