Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.08.2008, Page 18

18 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 12—2008
ARTICLE
Snorri Ásmundsson has the reputation of being
Iceland’s most infamous artist. If one’s in doubt,
his provoking pieces must authenticate his fame.
He caused quite a stir selling letters of absolution
a few years ago, promising to absolve buyers of
all sin. He has run for both the Presidency of the
Icelandic Republic and the Mayoral Office in
Akureyri for artistic purposes, although he called
off both campaigns before the elections after
causing a quite a rift in the community. His most
recent exploit was to organize a prayer ceremony
in Hljómskálagarðurinn Park where he offered
people from every religion to come and pray
together.
What aroused the Grapevine’s attention to
this innovative artist was a recent advertisement
he sent out to several media outlets, calling for
people’s dead bodies to be used in his forthcoming
video-instalment. Although he promised to return
the corpses in the same condition he received
them in, this obviously provoked some questions.
Snorri describes himself as both a scorpion and
a ‘firehorse,’ driven by some indescribable force,
trying to taunt himself in as many ways as he can.
Asked about his upcoming piece he explained
that he thinks working with cadavers is extremely
exhilarating. “The piece itself is an ode to life and
not dramatic or serious in any way. I don’t look at
death as an ending but a beginning of something
unknown,” he elaborates. He doesn’t want to
depict the piece too thoroughly for the simple
reason that he can’t: “I look at it as an abstract
painting in the making; the painter really doesn’t
know how it’s going to look.”
When asked how the search is going he
says there have been some informal advances
but the whole quest is in a sensitive stage at
the moment. He is though very optimistic and
expects to intercept a corpse in at least a year’s
time. The installment itself will be in the Akureyri
Art Museum sometime in 2009. “The piece itself
will of course rely on the condition of the cadaver,
the disease that caused its current state and my
drive-force’s adaptability to the piece,” Snorri
says, adding that if he doesn’t pull off his corpse-
seeking plans here in Iceland, he has no worries
for he says other communities are bound to be
more welcoming to his artistic endeavors.

WEBSITES
www.this.is/snorri
www.myspace.com/znosso
WANTED:
Corpses or
soon-to-be
Corpses
BY SIguRðuR k. kRISTInSSon — pHoTo BY gAS
Icelandic artist seeks the
dead for a video installation