Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.07.2013, Qupperneq 38

Paying Tribute To Mokka
Why did you decide to pay
tribute to Mokka?
I’ve been a regular at Mokka for 25 years and
know the owners quite well. When it was near-
ing its 55th anniversary I came up with the idea
of putting together an exhibition with the pho-
tos I’ve taken of the customers there through
the years. So I browsed through my collection
and selected a few. It was then that I noticed
how you can’t really tell when the photos were
taken; nothing’s changed at Mokka, the crock-
ery, the interiors, even the carpet has always
been the same.
So your photos have been
taken over many years?
Yes, the oldest ones are from 1988, when I was
around 20-years-old. I take my camera with me
everywhere and click whenever a good mo-
ment pops up, although I try to be subtle about
it and not disturb people. But it’s incredibly
hard to take photos inside Mokka, as it’s so dim.
I thought I would have more photos to show for
my Mokka years, but many of them were hope-
less because of the bad lighting.
Why are you a regular at Mokka?
There are so many reasons. It’s quiet there;
there’s no jukebox or radio making noise. The
atmosphere there is calm and relaxed. You can
also read all the newspapers there, including
the foreign ones. That’s the key to a good cof-
fee house, to provide all the major newspapers.
Then there’s the coffee and pastries, and all the
little things. And of course, the people there!
But is the coffee at Mokka good?
That’s…debateable.
Bárður R. Jónsson
Translator and regular at Mokka on and
off for the last 40 years, first coming in
as a customer in 1971, when he was 17–
years–old.
“I come here to nurture my soul, and to
see my friends and other, like-minded
people. They’re people who don’t take
anything for granted, perceive the
world with a critical eye and ask them-
selves questions that most people can’t
be bothered asking themselves. This is
a place with much forbearance, as long
as you don’t bother anyone—much—
you’re welcome at Mokka.”
Photographer Ari Sigvaldason has managed to capture some extraordinary everyday-life moments around the city through the years. Always working with old fash-
ioned, black and white film, Ari has published a book with his Reykjavík photos and at his gallery, Fótógrafí, he sells a wide range of prints as well as the odd painting
by local artists. Ari recently joined the distinguished posse of artists who have held exhibitions at Mokka coffeehouse, portraying the atmosphere of Mokka.
38
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The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 9 — 2013
by Ingibjörg Rósa Björnsdóttir
Best Of Reykjavík
Institution
Photo: Daníel Magnússon
Mokka imported the first
Italian espresso machine
to Iceland.
The 55-year-old establish-
ment still has its original
décor designed by sculp-
tor Jón Gunnar Árnason
(who made that Sólfar/
Sun Voyager sculpture by
Sæbraut).