Steingr�mur Eyfj�rd
By D. Dominick Lombardi
"Filling the Holes" Mixed media on canvas 2003
101 Gallery’s director, B�dvar Gunnarsson, had prepared me: Steingr�mur Eyfj�rd was a bit of an eccentric, he saw conspiracy in many circumstances, and viewed most things as furthering an ominous purpose. After viewing Eyfj�rd’s art, I would not have guessed there was a conspiracy minded man behind it; instead, a feeling of general paranoia crossed my mind.
Of the three separate installations, I first made my way to "Altered States," a work which features a slightly elevated platform suspended by four cables secured to the ceiling. Visitors are directed to step onto the platform, take a moment to steady themselves, then place a night mask over their eyes. A Polaroid picture of is taken as participants attempt to steady themselves. After about five or ten minutes, if visitors can hold theirbalance that long, they remove their blinders and carefully step off the precarious perch, head over to a desk laden with paper and markers, and draw what they envisioned (a task which, despite my initial pessimism, was rather fruitful).
You see, as a result of this visceral disconnect from any sense of space, strange and distinct pictures and images flash through ones mind. I had one clear vision, which I drew; and several other images that flew by quickly, which I chose to ignore.
In the weeks prior to my visit, the 100 or so Icelanders who took to the platform imagined many different things. Their photographs and drawings covered the wall behind the platform rigging in a grid of alternating media. A smattering of sexual innuendo, hints of humor, and some vague and varied references to death and dying tempered the drawings. I found the entire work to be a good mix of fun, Analysis, and just a bit of danger.
The second installation, "Wuthering Heights," like "Altered States," refers to a pre-existing story – but not the one you would expect. While researching the art of �sgr�mur, Eyfj�rd, I came across a drawing entitled "Wuthering Heights," which was meant to illustrate a poem by J�nas Hallgr�msson called "Mother Love." In the poem, a mother sacrifices her body and her sustenance to protect her child from the brutal elements of an
Icelandic winter. Eyfj�rd represents the story with two carts filled with odd, biomorphic looking objects and plastic containers on the floor, set against seven "therapeutic drawings" hanging on the wall. The humor is dark, the iconography is volcanic and disturbing, and the mood is grim. I found the mixed media drawings to be particularly compelling because they were all rather crudely drawn, save for the precisely written text comprised of one word, MAMMA! These were drawings the artist had collaborated on with fellow Icelandic artist �smundur �smundsson.
By far, the largest, and clearest articulation of the artist’s intended message can be found in the installation, "Sixteen Pawns." Here, the artist has fabricated sixteen pedestal mounted, vaguely representational forms that are offered up in two, somewhat acrid colors: a sickly, seedy yellow, and a strangely evil green. Above each one of these gaunt pawns hangs a curious, antique looking wooden device – tools that were used to create the "faces" on the pawns. The tools had a second presence on an adjacent wall in the form of shadow drawings, an effort that enhanced the obsessiveness of the installation, and perhaps, the whole show.
The element that tied all these sculptures, tools and shadow drawings together was a set of sixteen, text-centric drawings. To create these drawings, Eyfj�rd asked sixteen different friends and acquaintances to describe or explain one individually assigned sculpture. Every conversation was recorded using a sort of cartoon style, word balloon format — an approach to documentation that added a fresh reality to the entire installation. From these important discussions, Eyfj�rd pulled a concept or word which then became that individual pawns title: "Ancient Gas," "The Fool," "Cousin," "Snow White," "Phoenix" and "Drullumalli" to name just a few. The result, a completed concept that reflects how we all see the world differently, since we carry around with us, various mental notes or triggers. A factor which further amplifies the artist’s interest in the genesis of any plan, or dare I say, conspiracy.
The lone painting in the exhibition, "Filling the Holes," features two lengthy prophecies regarding the artist’s life. Here, the artist covered some of the text with dripping paint, maybe to correct- or perhaps to hide – things he was not pleased with. A similar element of selectively obscurant overpainting can also be found in the pawn drawings. These blacked out words immediately brought to mind government documents made public, that are riddled with blacked-out text.
A unique, powerful, and unforgettable show.
