About Olaf
Olaf Tollefsen is a multimedia narrative artist and printmaker from Columbia SC. He received his BFA from The University of South Carolina Honors College and holds an MFA from Clemson University. Olaf has exhibited in multiple exhibitions around the US including Relief Conspiracy at the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell ME, Been an Empire at the McMaster Gallery in Columbia, SC and Dirt: Deepening Intentional Rest Tactics at the Lee Hall Gallery in Clemson, SC. His work can also be found in numerous publications such as The Thimble, Porridge Magazine and The Chronicle.
Artist Statement
Navigating a world so saturated with consumer advertising can lead to habits of passive participation with our own process of decision making. Through the journey of strange characters in strange situations, I explore moments of positive growth that can arise in response to this saturation. I create narrative images that trace the journey through the day-in and day-out of life surrounded by a call to live a life of unconsciousness, without autonomy. Through the medium of storytelling I explore the ways in which an individual can find solace, hope, and growth through deliberate choices.
Cardboard and found objects create stages for these stories to unfold, as different techniques blur the line between old and new, digital and analog. Cardboard installations provide an opportunity for the viewers to not only witness the stories, but to place themselves in the space, participating in the experiences. In the exhibition, narrative and material work together to invite the viewer to experience the joy of being a child with a cardboard box that still has the potential to become anything imaginable.