Christian Tunge receives the Norwegian Graphic Designers' Fund graphic prize 2022

Artists
9/10/2022

Norwegian Graphic artists' fund prize was established in 2015 to increase interest in and the development of Norwegian graphics. The prize of NOK 50,000 is awarded each year to an artist who excels in the graphic medium at the State's art exhibition, the Autumn Exhibition. Norske Grafikere is a nationwide association for working graphic artists and a venue for contemporary graphics. The association was founded in 1919 to make graphics known as a separate art form and to improve the artists' situation.

Immolation (Burning Men) is a series of prints based on "self-immolation". Setting oneself on fire in public has a documented history dating back to the 4th century in China. Over the past half century, the practice has increased. Historically, self-immolation has been linked to religious traditions, as a personal choice to sacrifice one's body. The growth in the number of self-ignitions in recent years has occurred in parallel with the rise of printed and digital distribution channels. At the same time, the symbolic value of the action has gone from personal and religious to general and political. It is no longer the case that people set themselves on fire to sacrifice their physical bodies - they do it to create attention for a cause. In the project, the artist shows images that have been important in changing the cultural understanding of the phenomenon.