Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.03.2018, Blaðsíða 25

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together, and combine our forces
to make something bigger, stron-
ger, and more effective.”
Their discussions were far-
reaching. They talked about the
Ancient Greek philosophers, who
“thought better naked,” while all-
but excluding women from their
academic clique. This discussion
led on to the role of the female
nude in art practise, art history,
and in society at large.
“In the past, women who used
their bodies in performance art
were dismissed as exhibition-
ists,” says Rakel. “But now, when
they’re eighty years old, their work
is glorified. So is it ‘more okay’
because they’re old now, and no
longer threatening? This process
brought up many questions.”
Sex sells
Of course, issues surrounding fe-
male nudity are very much pres-
ent in contemporary society.
“Today, the female nude is both a
cheap commodity, and very much
in demand,” says Rakel. “Nudity
is also still a taboo—sometimes
it’s sexual, and sometimes it isn’t.
For example, when I teach figure
drawing I have naked people in
my classroom. We have a complex
relationship to nudity, when it’s
okay to show nudity, and what it
means.”
These ideas were played out in
reality as ‘About Looking’ started
to garner media attention. When
a promo picture for ‘About Look-
ing’ appeared on the RUV website,
it became the most read story
on the website that day. “I teach
gender studies, and this opened
up questions about why sex sells,”
says Rakel. “When is something
sexual, or not? And who decides
what is sexual?”
Purpose, Ego &
Obsession
‘About Looking’ is the continua-
tion of an already fruitful col-
laboration. The three artists first
met during their studies, gradu-
ating together from the Icelan-
dic Academy of the
Arts in 2008. Their
first col laborative
performance took
place in 2015 in St.
John’s, Canada. The
piece, entitled “Rec.”,
is represented i n
‘About Looking’ by
three square, red
light boxes bearing
the words Purpose,
Ego & Obsession.
“Purpose, Ego and
Obsession were char-
acters we created,”
says Rakel. “Katrín
was Purpose, I was
Obsession, and Eva was Ego. The
characters were based on art and
artists. It was like stand-up—tak-
ing the piss out of art, artists, and
ourselves. But when we placed the
lights in this context, with the pic-
tures, they became different. Red
lights are associated with eroti-
cism, and that affects how the
pieces interact.”
Art pop
Eva, Katrín and Rakel’s perfor-
mance collaboration looks set to
continue. On one
wall of the gallery
are three distinc-
t ive red pri nts,
made straight onto
the wall: the art-
ists’ asses. “This is
the beginning of a
new project,” says
Katrín. “It’s going
to be a music band.
If I could choose
to be anything I
wanted, I’d want
to be a dancer. And
Rakel is a wannabe
singer. So we de-
cided to allow our-
selves to be those things, and see
what happens.”
If the results are anywhere
near as complex, engaging and
thought-provok ing as ‘About
Looking,’ it’ll be a spectacle worth
looking out for.
“When you’re
naked and
free yourself
of negative
thoughts
towards
yourself,
some gates
open up.”
25The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 04 — 2018