Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.07.2007, Page 10

18_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 11_007_ARTICLE/MUSIC
‘Miðbaugur og Kringla: Leisure, Administration and Control’ is the name
of a collaborative exhibition of 11 visual artists that will open in various
spaces in Reykjavík on July 21. The participating group, which consists of
artists from Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, France and Estonia,
originally came together in 2005, when chosen to create a grand-scale
exhibition for a culture festival set to take place in Berlin the following year.
They invaded the Potsdamer Platz train station, smack in the city’s centre,
and put up installations that grabbed the passenger’s attention beyond all
expectations.
Working within this crowded intersection inspired the artists to continue
the collaboration and as they all share the same interest in working with
public spaces, two of Reykjavík’s largest were the obvious targets. The
spacious Kringlan shopping mall and the old city centre will experience a
four-week transformation when
Kringlan’s entrance, hallways, shops and car park, downtown Austurvöllur,
Miklabraut traffic street and Miklatún outdoor park, among others, will
be used for installations, photo displays and performances during the
period.
The exhibition catalogue reads that the group chose these two destinations
because to them they are the most important meeting spots in the capital
and represent in a prominent way what Iceland and Reykjavík are. Although
very distinct in size and shape, these spaces both serve as busy shopping
destinations as well as favoured hangouts for locals and travellers alike.
“We are looking at the purpose these areas serve and how people use
them,” they explain. This will be a wide-ranging project, which hopefully
will attract the pedestrians who frequent these places. The goal is to
make the exhibition very visible but also interactive, so the viewer can be
part of the projects. When shopping, heading to work or strolling around
downtown in search for some afternoon fun, you therefore might stumble
upon some intriguing art-piece along the way and forget all about your
former missions.
The exhibition’s opening will take place at two locations on July 21. At
15:00 the temporary-showroom Kringlan reveals its facelift and at 17:30,
the exhibition inside the Reykjavík City Hall opens to the public. From there,
a walk around the centre will lead to Gallery Dwarf on Grundarstígur, where
the opening ceremony concludes at around 20:00.

Bringing Art to the Public
RVK_GV_11_007_ART_19
Text by Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
Further information on www.or.is www.or.is
The area surrounding the geothermal power
plant at Nesjavellir is a region of spectacular
nature within easy reach of Reykjavik, acces-
sible to hikers and other nature lovers. A visit to the power plant
itself is also a revealing experience.
Reykjavík Energy has put much effort into making the area
accessible to visitors by providing marked paths, information signs, cabins, and
maps. The visitor centre is open this summar on Mondays through Saturdays from
9:00 to 17:00 and on Sundays from 13:00 to 18:00.
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Nesjavellir:
Experience Nature
at Reykjavik’s
Doorstep
Take part in an adventure at sea with an unforgettable 3-hour
trip into the world of whales and sea birds.
Located in Reykjavik's old harbour, only a 5 minute walk from
the city centre.
A spacious double-deck and a special viewing area on the
third deck ensures a spectacular view into the deep blue sea.
Whales&Puffin Island
www.elding.is
or visitCall us on
555 3565
Elding Whale Watching, Reykjavík harbour
Tel: (+354) 555 3565, Fax: (+354) 554 7420
info@elding.is, www.elding.is
Puffin season
Oct
13:00
9:00
Sept
13:00
9:00
July
13:00
17:00
9:00
June
13:00
17:00
9:00
May
13:00
9:00
Aug
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April
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To the untrained mind of your average Europe-
an, Iceland and the Faroe Islands suffer the same
relationship as Spain and Portugal, England and
Scotland or Holland and Belgium – they’re the
same but different. How very wrong they are.
Thankfully, to the unsuspecting visitor, nothing
polarises these significant cultural differences
more than a festival, in this case G! Festival on
the shores of a remote fishing village called
Göta.
Perhaps the only similarity between the two
island nations is the approach by plane which,
in both cases, is like something out of a disaster
movie, but without the sticky ending. Iceland
looks like you’re landing on the moon, albeit a
cold, volcanic version, whilst the approach to
the Faroes could be likened to the mass of green
hills and blue water you see when landing in
Hawaii or a lush tropical island.
With the airport behind us and the journey
to Göta completed, I was given a tour around
the festival site. The main stage was on the
beach with calm waters lapping up from the
fjord and mountainous hills overlooking the
other three sides of the arena – it was like
being in Valhalla’s own music festival except
that maybe Valhalla wouldn’t have hosted a
substantial whale kill the week before which,
as it was explained to me in a very matter-of-
fact way, was good as all of the blood had now
washed off of the beach. Another stage was
placed in a burnt-down fish drying house and
a third on a synthetic handball pitch, which was
a welcome change from the muddy field that
normally hosts such arenas.
Faroese Brew and Eclectic Music
Two days later the festival sprung into life as the
rocky camping field filled with tents, crates of
the local Faroese brew and a crowd to whom
this event clearly meant a great deal. Whilst
veering towards the youthful end of the lo-
cal population, the festival had also attracted
many visitors from Denmark, Sweden, Iceland,
France, Scotland and a few intrepid Brits who,
by this point, where wondering if this was a
giant joke – drinks called Jolly, Squizz, Peru
and dried pilot whale aren’t normally available
at Glastonbury or other European events but,
for many, this simply added to the feeling of
intrigue and charm that was already building
around the festival.
Whilst the first day was heavily based
around local Faroese bands such as 200, Ge-
stir and Kári Svensson, the second day was a
delight of eclectic music programming and
bizarre experiences with Pétur Ben providing
the first music display worthy of the glorious
surroundings. He played a sensible mix of
songs from Wine For My Weakness and it was
clear that most people sitting on the synthetic
grass had been waiting for his performance.
They knew all the words to Do Something
Radical and several other tracks, but the real
highlight was when Pétur walked off of the
stage. Not because that was the end of his set,
but because everyone knew he couldn’t end
his set there and there must be more music
saved for the encore.
They were right and the crowd surged
towards the stage as he re-appeared to play
his solo version Billie Jean in the early-evening
sun. Without Siggi Baldursson on drums and
his laid-back bass player, Pétur was still able
to tease the crowd with his gradual build up
to the chorus and, as those not in the know
realised who wrote the track, a cheer grew
and hands reached for the baby blue sky in
honour of an artist who made local star Teitur
(who followed Pétur on the bill that day) sound
like James Blunt’s less talented, slightly inbred
cousin. The crowd weren’t the only ones who
relished the festival, as Siggi revealed after his
stint on drums: “I enjoyed it very much, despite
the horrid hangover!”
Immediately after Teitur’s borefest came
London’s Metronomy to save us all from turn-
ing to alcohol to make the day more interest-
ing. They were very impressive in comparison.
Consisting of three black-clad men behind
three keyboards, they produced epic dance
music. As well as being very amiable chaps,
they also had one of the slickest sets of the
festival so far despite their lighting system fail-
ing in the intense and unexpected sunlight.
Dr. Spock’s Mayhem
Sometimes it was as if the person who pro-
grammed the festival was trying to confound
us – one minute the stage would be taken by
a middle-of-the-road troubadour ike Eivør and
the next a band like Sic would come on and
you could almost see the salmon housed in
the off-shore nets making a bid for the beach
to see what was going on. Sic are the Faroese
equivalent of a Slayer tribute band crossed with
Korn’s less annoying brother, but sadly their
hardcore rock image was totally destroyed as
their lead singer consistently strode around the
site pushing the very middle-class combination
of pram and child, with his wife dutifully along-
side. Ignoring this display for 45 minutes was,
however, absolutely possible as their set was
the heaviest thing to appear in the bay since
last week’s whale visitation, but the result was a
little easier to digest. “So”, we thought, “this is
what Faroese counter culture is all about…” as
the entire population of the nation’s metal kids
danced like a handball pitch had never been
danced on before. Sic are a special band but
one that could do with adding some variety to
the grunted vocals and thrashed guitar solos.
However, they pull off the counter culture icon
image pretty well when you consider that the
total population of the Faroes numbers under
50,000 and there can’t be that many metal
fans to propel such a movement from obscurity
into the mainstream.
It’s rare that the festival goer would have
the opportunity to make a fish-like bid for the
ocean when a particular artist is playing, but
the thought of watching Natasha Beddingfield
on the Friday night inspired us to flag down
a small boat to take us to the schooner an-
chored off-shore for an hour or two. This, we
reasoned, would allow us to be as far away
from the walking blonde bum note as possible
without leaving the site. Sadly, the words of
her many mediocre songs could still reach us,
but, now safely dressed in a one-piece thermal
suit with beer in hand, it didn’t seem so bad
as it might have from the beach.
Saturday gave no similar reasons to escape
to the high seas and, once again, the Icelandic
bands provided some of the most unique sets
of the festival. Dr Spock played one of the
closing sets and the mayhem they instigated
was something to behold. They handed out
trademark pink rubber gloves like confetti and
the whole display, from the music to the spray-
on lycra outfits, was one of chaotic genius.
Earlier in the day, Sweden’s Loney, Dear played
for 45 minutes (but would’ve been welcome
to play all afternoon) and Hatesphere took up
the metal baton where Sic had dropped it.
Looking back, the festival brings back many
happy memories – some of them intentionally
brilliant, others brilliant in their strangeness,
but all smile-inducing and enough to make
the G! Festival an incredible experience, even
if the music wasn’t quite as spectacular as the
surroundings.
G! Festival: Like Valhalla’s Own Music Fest
Text by Ben H. Murray Photos by Ólavur Frederiksen
[Dr. Spock] handed out
trademark pink rubber
gloves like confetti and
the whole display, from
the music to the spray-on
lycra outfits, was one of
chaotic genius.