SIGNE CHRISTINE URDAL (born 1979, Norway) is a visual artist based in Stavanger. She graduated from Oslo Photo Art School in 2004, following a bachelor degree in Anthropology and History of Art (2006) from University of Oslo. Urdal’s work portrays peoples’ inner life and tells their everyday stories and struggles, revealing a genuine interest in the human condition. Urdal mainly works with photography, video and audio, often assembled into a holistic artwork.

Identity is a recurrent theme in Urdal’s work, and the anthropological perspective has led her to dig deeper into our own community in terms of visual representation. Who am I? How do I act in encounter with others? How does the public sphere provide space for differences or similarities? How do cultural codes affect the way we look at ourselves and the world? Urdal’s lens strives to unveil (and explore) the individual`s presence in hers or his own life as well as in encounters with others. Her photographs expose shifting, often vulnerable states beween dreaming and longing, while still by means of rendering the subjects with the greatest dignity.

Urdal has a strong involvement in idealistic work and has worked with organisations including UNICEF, the Norwegian Cancer Society, TV-aksjonen Drømmefanger, Pluss Norge, Kirkens Bymisjon, Film from the South, Gatemagasinet Asfalt and Hele Rogaland leser.

Signe Christine Urdal debuted at the juried West Coast Exhibition Vestlandsutstillingen We are the chosen ones in 2007 curated by Linn Cecilie Ulvin. Since then her works have been exhibited at Galleri Sølvberget (Stavanger), Tou Camp (Stavanger), Bryne Art Association (Bryne), Preus Museum (Horten), Fotogalleriet (Oslo), Kunstnernes Hus (Oslo), Tou Scene Contemporary Art Space (Stavanger), Spriten Kunsthalll (Skien), Førde Art Society (Førde), KUBE Art Museum (Ålesund), Hordaland Contemporary Art Center (Bergen), Haugesund Art Association (Haugesund), Fotogalleriet (Oslo), Kunstnernes Hus (Oslo), Stavanger Kunstforening (Stavanger), Rogaland Contemporary Art Center (Stavanger), Galleri Giga (Stord), Terminal 08 Gallery (Gorzów) in Poland and Nablus Cultural Festival in Palestine.

In 2011 Urdal was selected for the Noorderlicht Masterclass (NL) for international photographers led by the curators Marc Prûst and Lars Boering (Lux Photo Gallery), for the participation of which she received the Torbjørn Wales Grant.

Urdal has since June 2013 been represented by Edith Images agency in Cologne, Germany, as the only Scandinavian artist.

 

Urdal has for the last years been involved with political work as a board member at Visual Artists Association Rogaland (BKFR) in Stavanger and Tou Atelierhus (NO).

 

Member of The Norwegian Association of Fine Art Photographers (FFF) / BONO / Norwegian visual artists association (NBK) / Visual Artists Association Rogaland (BKFR)