Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.02.2018, Page 23

Bodily Beings
Iceland’s art scene gathers for ‘Embody’ opening
Líkamleiki / Embody
In Gerðarsafn until April 14th, open
Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-17:00
Last weekend, the Icelandic Photog-
raphy Festival opened in galleries all
over Reykjavík. One large-scale exhibi-
tion proved a particular draw—an am-
bitious multimedia group show called
“Embody” at Gerðarsafn in Kópavogur,
which draws together a diverse range
of work by eighteen artists.
The show was curated by Brynja
Sveinsdóttir. “The works are connected
through the theme of the body, and em-
bodiment,” says Brynja. “The title, ‘Em-
body,’ in English, comes from phenom-
enology—the philosophical attempt
of man to discover a direct connec-
tion between the body and the world.”
Bodily beings
“It’s a word that’s used to remind us
that we experience everything as bod-
ies,” she continues. “We aren’t a divid-
ed soul and body—we’re bodily beings.
There are a lot of works that connect
to the bodily experience of the world,
whether through small sculptures,
where touch is a way of experiencing
the world, to works that refer to the
body as the medium through per-
formance—a living sculpture. Other
works refer to everyday objects, physi-
cal nature, and the world around us.”
Deeper meaning
While the exhibition is part of the pho-
tography festival, Brynja also sought
to stretch the boundaries of the ex-
hibition’s remit. “Photography as an
art medium is at the heart of the ex-
hibition,” she says, “but I also wanted
to expand it into film, sculpture and
performance—to expand the ability of
photographs to make everyday objects
very aesthetic, and to give them deeper
meaning. So it’s also about expanding
the medium. I also gave myself per-
mission to not make it too much of an
art-historical project but to connect it
very much to the visual aspects of the
work. That, and creating a feeling that
you can find threads between the dif-
ferent works.”
Find out more at www.gerdarsafn.is
Words:
John Rogers
Photo:
Timothée
Lambrecq
Words:
Alexander Jean
de Fontenay
Photo:
Þorgerður Anna
Björnsdóttir
23
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Beer, Wonderful Beer
The Annual Icelandic Beer Festival
22nd-24th Fe.b - Kex Hostel - 14,900
ISK
The Icelandic Beer Festival
returns for a seventh year in 2018.
Independent micro-brewers rub
shoulders with Icelandic and
international beer enthusiasts
to sip sour ales, dark stouts, and
all kinds of weird and wonderful
brewing experiments, all included
in the ticket price. It’s a jolly event
with a community feeling, and if you
happen to be into flat caps, beards,
dad bods and ruddy complexions,
this is definitely the place to be. JR
Laugh It Out
Scotch On Ice Comedy Fest
8th-10th Feb - 20:00 - Gamla Bíó,
Harpa & Gaukurinn - 3990 ISK
How do you fight the heart-
wrenching feeling of depression
that comes with long, lifeless
winter days? With a good dose
of dark humour, of course! For
the first time ever, Icelandic and
Scottish comedians come together
to ponder about life, winter and
misery to shake your world with
laughters. If that weren’t enough,
Scotch on Ice supports Hugarafl,
an Icelandic organisation for the
empowerment of those who live
with a mental condition. AD
The Light Within
List í Ljósi Art Festival
16th-17th Feb. - 20:00 - Seyðisfjörður
SSeyðisfjörður, the art capital of
the Icelandic East, seeks to light up
the winter darkness. The festival
represents an opportunity for
artists and onlookers to experiment
with forms and interpret the town
in their unique way, transforming
it and illuminating it from within.
Through the light of installations
and sculptures (both interactive
and traditional) Icelandic and
International artists transform
Seyðisfjörður into a creative hub
that buzzes with lifet. AD
Brynja Sveinsdóttir, curator of 'Embody'
Electric Dreams
explores the
realm of Icelandic
electronic
music, be it
techno, house,
or bass music—
something
to dance to.
Alexander Jean is
a Reykjavík-based
music enthusiast,
DJ and student of
culture.
Deep, Colourful
And Continuously
Adventurous
Andartak puts music in the foreground
Andartak
Bónus Plötur 7" for sale at Kaffi Vínyll
Andartak is the three-years-in-
the-making music project of Arnór
Kári Egilsson. Möller Records has
released two of Andartak’s albums,
‘Mindscapes’ in 2015, and ‘888’ earli-
er this year. A few weeks ago, the Bó-
nus Plötur micro-label included his
song ‘Tobbi týndur í völundarhúsi’
on its tenth 7” release of the year. We
caught up with Arnór to talk about
his practice as a musician, and his
connection to music.
Andartak’s work could be de-
scribed as a musical journey. This
is especially true of ‘888,’ which was
made as a soundtrack for a car jour-
ney from Akureyri to Siglufjörður.
“Press play at a certain point and [...]
the album will synchronize with the
environment [such as] open fields,
mountains, tunnels and the ocean,”
Arnór explains. In general, he makes
playful ambient and experimental
tunes loaded with delicate transi-
tions between electric sounds of
variable intensity, constant throes
of bright and dark synthesizer, and
drum machine sounds.
Arnór started making music in
high school on his computer that
eventually gave up on him. It wasn’t
until years later when he was in-
troduced to hardware synthesizers
that his passion for making elec-
tronic music came to the fore and
Andartak was born. “From
then on, the dive has
been deep, colorful
and continuously
adventurous,” he
says.
Making elec-
tronic music is
not his only
creative pas-
sion. Arnór
says, “Be
it fine arts,
street art/graffiti, illustration, pho-
tography, poetics or writing, I have
the need to express myself in multi-
ple ways to confront different emo-
tions and developments.” Today he
puts music in the foreground and is
extremely thankful for the opportu-
nities and feedback he has received.
“It makes me feel that I am going in
the right direction,” he says.
Andartak will play the SonarLab
stage at Sónar Reykjavík in March,
along with Cassy, Cold, Denis Sulta,
EVA808, Intr0beatz, Jlin, Jónbjörn,
Lena Willikens, Si-
mon fknhndsm,
Skeng, Volrup-
tus, Yagya, Ya-
maho & more.