Yinon Avior
Copenhagen, Denmark
Bio:
Yinon Avior was born in Tel Aviv in 1991 and he lives and works in Copenhagen since 2015. In 2011 Avior started his academic studies at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under the tutelage of Prof. Marcel Odenbach and subsequently graduated with honors from Hamidrasha Faculty of Arts in Israel (BFA.Ed). In 2019 Avior graduated with honors From the sculpture department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerpen (MA)
“Stacks”, Avior’s most recent solo exhibition, is still ongoing at Jerusalem Artists House until the 26th of February 2022. Previous solo exhibitions in Denmark including the venues Kirsten Kjær Museum in Frøstrup, Salon 75 in Frederiksberg, and Beast: Art and Space in Bornholm.a
Avior has participated in many group exhibitions throughout the years. Among venues: Museum for Religious Art (2022); Kunsthal Aarhus (2021); Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth, Greece (2020); CICA Museum, South Korea (2018); National Center for Contemporary Art, Russia (2017); Kunsthal Charlottenborg (2016); Israel Museum of Art (2013) and more.
Where are you from, where are you based and can you tell us a little about both?
I was born in 1991 in Tel Aviv and since 2015 I live and work in Copenhagen. Israel and Denmark are very different. First of all – the climate. And then, generally, I would say that while in Israel the mess and filth are above the surface, in Denmark it is under it
What draws you to Athens?
Athens is a very special capital, especially since it became part of the EU countries twenty years ago. On the one hand everyone has that sense of respect towards its’ history and heritage, but at the same looking at it as a poor wicked territory. This double-sided perception fascinates me and I see it as a fertile ground for my work which often reflects on different limbos. Funny enough there is a song called Hero to Zero which is part of the Disney’s soundtrack for “Hercules”
You’re a multi disciplinary artist – Can you tell us a little about other works you do?
Yes. My artistic process is genuinely uncertain… the result is just unpredictable. Everything I do aims to reach a certain visual accuracy that relays on a personal aesthetic and logic. Anyway, Rather if it is a photograph or a performance, the result is usually dark and has something to do with death, sex, and faith.
How do you go about conceptualising an idea for a project?
The concept grows organically from the point where my natural curiosity and interest collide with miraculous serendipities. The project on which I’m working on here is a good example for it.
What are you working on in the City?
My stay in town started in another neighbourhood. Once getting here and without thinking too much, I just walked for hours. The act of walking plus delving into interactions with objects, people and places, inspires me. My mind was flooded with posters and notes that were hanged on the walls and laid on the floors of the street.
I came to realization that there are a lot of hard copies in Athens. The number of photocopy shops is absolutely phenomenal… At some point I started collecting prints and built a little archive. Hundreds of prints. From death announcements to private capoeira lessons.
The only two rules I had in mind are:
1. It must be printed in one of the following universal measurements – A6, A5, A4, A3.
2. There must be a detail that allows the author and the reader contact.
All of a sudden, a detail in an article that I’ve read in the past popped in my mind: Prostitutes in ancient Greece that wore shoes with the word “Follow” on their soles: that way they could lead their costumers the way to them.
On my third day in Athens, I came here (to silk, which is situated literally in the middle of the brothels area) and realized that my project will be about traces and invitations for contact – rather if physical or intellectual. The sexual aspect echoes, of course.
Describe your work/style in 3 words?
I don’t know
What can we expect from you next?
You can’t
Where can we find you online?
