Elena Damiani Peruvian , b. 1979

Born 1979. Lima, Peru 

Lives and works in Lima, Peru 

For Damiani, critical concerns regarding the conceptual significance of archives and the persistence of memory in a society fearful of forgetting have shaped her practice and research, transforming found materials into collages, sculptures, video works, and installations. However, in contrast to traditional archives with historical-linear narratives, much of her work disregards order, instead insinuating possible mental relations. She utilizes identifiable structures of traditional archives to activate recollection and highlight the potential to fragment and destabilize either remembrance as recorded or history as a written continuum of what has come to pass. 

Damiani’s work has been shown in several international institutions and biennials, such the Aichi Triennale (2025); MUAC (Mexico); Seoul Mediacity Biennial (2023); Cuenca Biennial (2018, 2016); Gwangju Biennial (2016); Venice Bienniale (2015), Italy; Vienna Biennale (2015), Austria; IV Poly/Graphic San Juan Triennial (2015); Bienal de la Imagen y Movimiento, Buenos Aires (2014) and Mercosul Biennial (2013), Brazil.  

Her works can be found in public prestigious collections, including MoMA, New York; Museo de Arte de Lima, Peru; Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome; Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection, Madrid; Perez Art Museum, Miami; Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection, New York and Caracas; Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City; Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco and Paris; Fototeca Latinoamericana, Buenos Aires and Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami. 

She was awarded the Grants & Commissions Program, CIFO Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, the Americas Society commission for a permanent site-specific installation at the David Rockefeller Atrium in New York, the Special Mention for Video Creation at the International Festival of Digital Arts and Cultures of Gran Canaria, 2nd Prize at the French-Peruvian Contest for Visual Arts Pasaporte para un Artista, the Gold and Silver at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes Corriente Alterna, and the Production Prize in the 2nd Peruvian Contest for Video and Electronic Arts.