As the Icelandic community of artists grows exponentially, three artist – three women – make a distinctive space for themselves at the forefront of Iceland’s expasion into the global art arena.
Three Artsist: Three Women
As the Icelandic community of artists grows exponentially, three artist – three women – make a distinctive space for themselves at the forefront of Iceland’s expasion into the global art arena.
Th�ra Th�risd�ttir works with tradition, legend and her perception of the female in a strong, sometimes shocking way. In her work she combines performance with video and with drawing, sculpture and objects. Th�ra Th�risd�ttir finds her inspiration in the Bible, seeking out rituals involving purification. For example, in a performance piece composed in Hungary, she bathed in wine, videotaped the performance and afterwards bottled the wine again to succesfully sell it as "bathing wine".
Th�risd�ttir also works to give others the possibility to show their work, as there are few galleries in Reykjav�k that show progressive young artists. Together with Valgerdur Gudlaugsd�ttir, Th�risd�ttir founded Gallery Hlemmur in 1999 and ran it until 2003. This exhibition space allowed emerging artists to show their work and soon caught the attention of others interested in the Icelandic art scene. In 2003 there was a group show of artists from the gallery in the museum Gerdarsafn, in a neighbouring community of Reykjav�k. Subsequently, in the fall of 2004, the Icelandic Art Museum, Listasafn �slands, had an exhibition on contemporary art including 20 artists, 15 of whom first showed their work in Gallery Hlemmur.
Th�risd�ttir also showed at Gallery Hlemmur, exhibiting bloodmarks of menstrual blood on paper. In the same show she showed alegorical traces from the opening, half-empty wine glasses and photographs. The result was a surprising combination of bygone moments of celebration and a shocking feminist comment on the hidden and forbidden. Underneath, a strong current linked the works with religious ritual, sacrifice and consecration.
The work of �l�f Nordal is poses an interesting contrast to Fl�risd�ttir. Nordal is one of the few contemporary artists in Iceland who seek artistic inspiration from Icelandic tradition. She makes a unique link between the past and the present in a number of witty and deadpan works. �l�f is a sculptor but also uses video and photography is her works and installations. In one of her series she combined modern toys with the traditional playthings of children in Iceland – ram�s horns, creating uncanny, disturbing objects. She makes use of Icelandic folktales and superstitions in many of her works, creating white ravens or toying with the idea of a cuckoo�s egg, linking it with modern ideas and experiments in genealogy.
�l�f is never nostalgic and all her works manage to adress various aspects of contemporary life, such as the battles of feminism, the anti-warmovement, consumerism and the effects of scientific discoveries on the individual. In an engaged manner Nordal has shown many young artists a way to come to terms with their roots without losing touch with the present.
Finally, �sk Vilhj�lmsd�ttir is an artist that works from a strong sense of political commitment and is almost without parallel in Iceland (though Vilhj�lmsd�ttir shares her commitment with many of her colleagues in other countries). Political engagement is strong among Icelandic artists in regards to such issues as nature preservation but few use it as directly as Vilhj�lmsd�ttir. Her shows and installations are often made in co-operation with the public, such as her series of works made with children and teenagers. In a work-shop like atmosphere, Vilhj�lmsd�ttir builds a small wooden cabin together with children in various places, both in Iceland and abroad. Then she asked them to speak for the camera, asking them about their dreams and desires for the future, showing the result on a screen inside the cabin. The outcome is an engaging work of art that reveals the weaker sides of society in an almost innocent way.
Another project of Vilhj�lmsd�ttir was her show in Gallery Hlemmur in Reykjav�k in 2003. The show was called "Something Else," pointing to the fact that many people would indeed like something other than what they have. (Icelandic society, a wellfare society in most ways, still does not adress many issues, leaving many to regard it as too materialistic, too closed off to immigrants or too right-wing.) In her controversial show, Vilhj�lmsd�ttir converted the gallery into an open forum: She installed a table, chairs and a coffee machine as props to alter the gallery space. Then, she invited a variety of speakers from very different backgrounds to host daily discussions. The "show" was an experiment in creating interesting networks between backgrounds, bridging intellectuals, artists, musicians, dentists, teachers and many others. The work of Vilhj�lmsd�ttir is both inspiring and a necessary ideal for younger artists to examine.
