Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.01.2017, Page 48

Art Interview48The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 01 — 2017
At DesignMarch 2016, Ágústa
and Elísabet Karlsdóttir—who
together make up the powerful
design team ALVARA—present-
ed a jewelry line called Silfra. In
December they launched their
second collaborative project, the
clothing line USELESS. We asked
Ágústa about her recent work and
working as a designer in Iceland.

When did you start designing?
I took my first steps in design
when I started studying Product De-
sign at the Iceland Academy of the
Arts. I graduated in 2014 but went
on to studying goldsmithery at the
Technical College. I wanted to gain a
more hands-on material knowledge.
I used to work on a variety of proj-
ects while studying but these last few
months have been the first in a long
time where I’ve not had to juggle de-
sign work and studies.

What is your creative process?
My process usual ly revolves
around some kind of a story,
which varies between projects.
I usually focus on the materials
first. If the material has an inter-
esting story, for example because
of its origin, the outcome tends
to be good, even better so if the
material has some kind of a prob-
lem, which I find often to be an
opportunity.
Researching and experiment-
ing is also a huge part of the pro-
cess. I believe that approaching
something from a different view-
point is the best way to create
something new. When materials
or objects are put into a new con-
text it can often look strange to
practical people at first since they
are not used to seeing these things
in a new setting, but unusual pos-
sibilities and strange outcomes
are precisely what makes design
interesting to me.
I believe in embracing the
strange. Sometimes I want to do
something fun and playful be-
cause then there are absolutely
no rules but other times I want
to be practical and make up rules
for myself, which I use as guide-
lines for the design. It all depends
on the nature of the project and
where the story guides me.

What inspires you?
I get inspiration from all over the
place. There are so many things
that capture my attention. It can
be some sort of material, an in-
teresting place, a good story or a
certain shape or texture.

What is your favorite artwork, by
you and/or another artist?
Shit, that’s a difficult question.
I like too many things to be able
to choose a favorite. I guess my
favorite project of my own right
now is my most recent one, USE-
LESS, a reindeer clothing and ac-
cessories line I did in a collabora-
tion with my partner at ALVARA,
Elísabet Karlsdóttir.

How is it being a designer in Ice-
land?
It’s a relatively young field in Ice-
land, a grassroots movement in a
way, which is fun to be a part of.

What do you wish to achieve
through your work?
A redefinition of modern values.
I want to make people think.
Where the design comes from and
why it is made is my focus instead
of solely producing commercial
merchandise.

What are your future plans?
Producing the jewelry line Silfra,
that I collaborated on with Elísa-
bet at ALVARA last DesignMarch.
We received a grant from the Ice-
land Design Centre and therefore
have been developing the line a
lot, which I am very excited for. I
will also be producing the USE-
LESS clothing line so 2017 is going
to be one busy year.
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Artist Talk:
Ágústa Sveinsdóttir
Designer
Words HREFNA BJÖRG GYLFADÓTTIR
I C E L A N D I C R E S T A U R A N T & B A R
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