Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.06.2017, Síða 67

Iceland Through The
Windowpane
Steypa steps into the light
Words: Ciarán Daly Photo: Art Bicnick
It ’s been five summers since
Claus Sterneck, a well-known lo-
cal photographer and postman in
Reykjavík, first affixed photog-
raphy works to the walls of the
mysterious abandoned herring
factory in Djúpavík, thus bring-
ing the Steypa group photography
exhibition to
life. This year,
Stey pa steps
out i nto the
l ight, tak ing
over a la rge
g r e e n h o u s e
in Hveragerði
a nd Rest au-
r a n t M i k a
i n Re y k h o lt
with new work from an inter-
national team of artists and
photographers. After all, three
years is a long time to spend in
the shadow of the western hills.
“'Steypa' is the Icelandic word
for concrete,” Claus explains over
a crackly Facetime feed. “The
herring factory was at the time
the largest building in Iceland
made of concrete. This year, it’s
a greenhouse—the opposite of
concrete—but there’s one par-
tially damaged wall that reminds
me of the place in Djúpav ík.
It ’s falling apart. There’s stil l
c onc ret e i n t h i s bu i ld i n g.”
No sunsets
Keen to distance the exhibition
from the cascading, Instagram-
friendly simulacra of the Ice-
landic landscape, Claus curates
Steypa according to three strict
rules. “It must be photography.
It’s okay to show text, poems, or
other information—but the fo-
cus is photography. The next is
that all pictures must have a con-
nection to Iceland. The third is
‘Please, please, please: no north-
ern lights, waterfalls, or sunsets.’”
Iceland is now no doubt one of
the most photographed places in
the world, and the proliferation
of amateur photographers visit-
ing the country is forcing
local artists to explore the
country in new, differ-
ent ways. “You see these
pictures in every single
guidebook about Iceland,”
Claus says, almost wea-
rily. “It’s not the photog-
raphy I want to show in
Steypa. I think many peo-
ple coming to Iceland are
so impressed and overwhelmed
by the wonderful landscape that
many of them miss the small
details and what is beside it.”
Double-edged sword
From my conversation with Claus,
I’m struck by the notion that the
tourism boom has been a double-
edged sword for artists in Iceland.
Diminishing charm has accom-
panied increased exposure. It’s
caused something of a cultural
paradox. “I’ve lived in Reykjavík
since before 2008, the year of the
crisis. From 2010-11 tourism has
been going crazy—especially in
Reykjavík. I almost never go out
now. The locations aren’t so inter-
esting anymore. Too much tour-
ism, too many souvenir stores,
too many expensive restaurants,
Airbnbs, hotels, and guesthouses.
It’s changed the city centre a lot.”
Of course, there are a few
positive aspects. Claus gets more
feedback and response from tour-
ists, and more people coming to
Iceland means more interest in
art—and more interest in Steypa.
“I see it in a sculpture mu-
seum where I work,” says Claus.
“We used to have five or ten guests
on weekends, but now it’s fifty or
eighty. It’s not even in the cen-
tre of Reykjavík and it’s a small
museum. Iceland is a very cre-
ative island and I think Icelanders
are very open to art and creative
projects in general. Even in the
countryside, there’s space for art
projects and residencies. That’s
something very positive. With in-
creasing tourism these projects
get more feedback and acceptance.
Look at the murals in the city
centre that were made last year
for Airwaves. Public art is a very
important aspect of the culture
scene in Reykjavík and Iceland—
you can see this in the sculptures
around Tjörnin, and the exhibi-
tions in Harpa and the town hall.”
Quiet moments
Underneath a l l the noise, it
seems that there’s still a place
for the small detai ls. “These
pictures are not spectacular,”
says Claus. “They are calm. They
don’t want to capture the big
things. They want to capture
daily life. The quiet moments.”
Everyday moments frozen in
time become part of a much bigger
narrative at Steypa. “Steypa is only
as good as the pictures and ideas
are,” finishes Claus. “If you only
saw landscape photos, it would
get boring. It’s not glaciers and
sunsets… it’s nine photographers,
each of us with our own stories.”
This international group of pho-
tographers—hailing from across
continents, from Canada to Po-
land—tell a story of a landscape lit-
tered with clouds, lonely birds, elec-
tronic graveyards, and small bones.
It is the uncanny, surreal, forgotten
places that matter. Here, life whis-
pers louder than the land can ever
shout. Step into the greenhouse and
take a moment among the plants.
STEYPA runs until 31 August. Ad-
mission is free. Opening times &
more info: www.steypaphoto.com
ART
4.8
4.9
Claus Sterneck, postman photographer extraordinaire
“‘Please,
please: no
northern lights,
waterfalls, or
sunsets.’”