Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.01.2017, Blaðsíða 46

Art Subterranean Design
Even in Iceland, design is not an is-
land. There is an inherent function
associated with “design” that al-
lows it to eclipse art without being
absorbed. Fashions are worn, prod-
ucts are used, buildings are built.
Design happens within a context.
But Iceland itself is an island (this
we know). And no matter how good
the design is, it needs its context in
order to be presented, to become
the full realization of itself. Like a
fresh graduate backpacking their
way through Europe.
The Icelandic Design Centre
was created to support new vi-
sions, promote current designs,
and push Icelandic design through
process to product. With events
like the Icelandic Design Awards,
showcases like DesignMarch, and
grants like the Design Fund, the
Centre works to promote Icelan-
dic designers in a practical and
knowledgeable way. They create
a context. Ólöf Rut is a project
manager at the Centre. We caught
up with her to discuss what she
thinks are the noteworthy design
projects that emerged in 2016.
Immediately she offered two
projects: 1+1+1, a furniture design
collaboration between three dis-
tinct studios, and Ari Jónsson’s
red-algae water bottle. The proj-
ects exemplify the major themes in
Icelandic design this year: process
and environment, respectively.
1+1+1 is a collaborative project
between designers from Iceland,
Sweden and Finland. The concept
is based on the paper game where
each person draws one piece of a
creature then folds the paper over,
while the next player adds their
own parts. The studio took that
idea and applied it to furniture de-
sign, each designer creating one
part of the product without knowl-
edge of the other two designs. In
2015 they began with floor lamps
and have since expanded to in-
clude the cabinet, the mirror and
the candleholder.
“Everybody wants to know
about Ari’s water bottle, it’s gone
viral,” Ólöf says. Since present-
ing its prototype at DesignMarch
this year, Ari’s 100% biodegrad-
able plastic bottle alternative has
received dozens of write-ups and
has Ólöf fielding media calls about
it on the daily.
The winner of this year’s Ice-
landic Design Award incorporated
environmental sustainability into
one of the most fundamental hu-
man processes: growth. ‘As We
Grow’ is a line of children’s cloth-
ing that grows with the child, last-
ing generations and cutting back
on the constant desire to purchase
new clothes. “They won the award
because their process was focused
on environmental values, and be-
cause they have been able to estab-
lish themselves in markets both
local and abroad,” Ólöf says.
Gagarín is an experience design
team that focuses on interactive
media designs. This year, for the
50th anniversary of Landsvirkjun,
the National Power Company of
Iceland, Gagarín was hired to in-
stall an interactive exhibition at
Ljósafossstöð, one of Iceland’s old-
est hydroelectric stations. Their ex-
hibit is an exploration of electricity,
inviting and informative for visi-
tors of the countryside destination.
In the fashion world Ólöf men-
tions Kiosk, a friendly Laugavegur
co-op shop owned and operated by
eight Icelandic designers, includ-
ing Hildur Yeoman who received
attention this year for her ‘Tran-
scendence’ line and exhibition.
Katrín Alda also got a shout-out
for her shoe line ‘Kalda’, which
turned up in all sorts of corners
in the international fashion me-
dia. “It is so funny to see a picture
of this Icelandic shoe design next
to an image of Britney Spears and
Justin Timberlake,” Ólöf says, re-
ferring to a shout out from Sun-
day Times Style which pictured
the Kalda denim-on-denim-on-
denim mule.
At Hafnarborg an exhibition
called ‘Experiment—Clay and
More’ caught Ólöf’s attention.
The exhibition is a collection of
clay works from participants in
all different fields of visual arts.
Sigrún Norðdahl’s ‘Sickle’ at-
tempted to apply high-tech ma-
terials to typically one-time-use
objects. Theodora Alfredsdóttir’s
‘Subterranean Formation’ cre-
ated a “research led investigation,”
firing clay in the ground without
any prior mold and allowing the
medium to create its own shape.
The clay was then excavated with
the same processes as an archeo-
logical dig to reveal the object’s ap-
pearance. Like the Icelandic Design
scene, the object both works with
and is worked by its surroundings.
Thanks Ólöf, for the dig.
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46The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 01 — 2017
The
Shape
Of
Things
2016 In Icelandic Design
Words PARKER YAMASAKI Photo ART BICNICK
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