Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.11.2018, Síða 23

Double Standard
“Inclusive Nation” is the Cycle Music and
Art Festival’s theme of 2018
In the age of globalisation, the concepts
of nation and nationality become in-
creasingly challenged. With immigra-
tion to Iceland on the rise, the country is
facing a new fundamental change to its
society, just 100 years after the declara-
tion of its sovereignty.
This year’s theme of the Cycle Music
and Art Festival is “Inclusive Nation,”
which deals with questions such as the
heritage of Danish colonialism, national
identity, and the role of whiteness in
the Nordic countries. On October 25,
it will also inaugurate the “Inclusively
Exclusive” exhibition at the Gerðarsafn
Art Museum, which will include Melanie
Ubaldo’s new art piece.
Ambient level of white
racism
Melanie is a Filipino-born artist that has
lived in Iceland for 13 years, or exactly one
half of her life. The fine arts graduate has
exhibited her works at Kling & Bang and
at the Cycle Festival in Berlin earlier this
year, and will also be exhibiting a new
art piece at this year’s edition.
“I do these massive paintings,” she
says. “They are stitched together pieces
of canvas—almost like a quilt; like your
grandma would make. Then on top of
that I put autobiographical texts, which
are statements that people have said
about me.”
The statements, such as “What are
you doing in Iceland with your face?” or
“Is there any Icelander working here?”
expose the “ambient level of white rac-
ism” that immigrants in Iceland often
face in their daily lives.
“There is this double standard,” Mela-
nie explains. “As long as you're a tour-
ist, you're welcome here, because you’re
bringing in money. But if you work here
and live here as an immigrant, you're
actually getting paid to be here. And
that’s bad.”
Creating conversation
Melanie’s artworks unite two contradic-
tions—the tedious work of stitching all
the canvases together by hand, which
takes weeks, and the “manspreading”
textual statements. The stitching to-
gether of canvases was inspired by a
Filipino tradition of recycling clothes
into rugs, which Melanie’s mum sold to
make ends meet when she first moved
to Iceland.
Even though Melanie feels included in
the culture and speaks Icelandic, she still
has to deal with prejudice and racism.
“I look at myself as the most histori-
cally marginalised group in the world,”
she laughs. “I'm an Asian immigrant
woman. It doesn't get better than that.”
While her artworks are cheeky and
provocative, they are also very sincere,
and intended to start a conversation.
“The art I make has been shown in public
spaces," Melanie says. "People just go
about their day, being borderline racist.
Casual racism doesn't exist until some-
one points it out. Here, I point it out."
Words:
Phil Uwe
Widiger
Photo:
Art Bicnick
Words:
Alexander Jean
de Fontenay
Photo:
Tryggvi Þór
Pálsson
23
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Melanie Ubaldo, shredding
Hlýnun Jarðar
Warms Up
Icelandic DJ expands his horizon in Sweden,
respects his roots and looks towards the future
Tryggvi Þór Pálsson is a member of
Reykjavík’s own very productive and
skillful DJ crew Plútó, appearing un-
der DJ moniker Hlýnun Jarðar (Global
warming). He also dabbles in music
production as Ceqi. Tryggvi’s DJ sets
are bassy, full of mysterious dialogue
samples and, most-importantly, fun,
unexpected and dancey.
Music has long had a special place
in Tryggvi’s world. “When I was thir-
teen, I discovered underground music
thanks to various radio shows, like
Skýjum ofar, which was my biggest
influence,” Tryggvi says. “From there
I learned about Þruman, the record
shop, and started riding the bus
downtown every week to buy records.”
It quickly spiralled from there for
Tryggvi, who listens to just about ev-
Info:
Follow Plútó’s
Soundcloud
for regular
contributions and
mixes by Tryggvi:
www.soundcloud.
com/plutvarp. His
personal page
features his latest
experiments and
upcoming music
projects: www.
soundcloud.com/
hlynun.
Info
Cycle Music and
Art Festival will
be held October
25-28th in various
venues. Attend the
pre-party at The
Marshall House on
October 19th, and
find more info at
www.cycle.is.
erything, from Russian composer
Alexander Scriabin to hardcore
techno and gabba. “As long as it’s in-
teresting in mood or texture,” he ex-
plains. “It shouldn’t make too much
sense and I think DJ sets should take
chances and fluctuate to keep it in-
teresting.”
Today Tryggni lives in Malmö,
Sweden where he works as a chef
and regularly participates in parties
with both Plútó as well as Malmö DJ
crew Astrum. “I was tired of living
in Iceland, basically,” says Tryggvi.
“Living in Sweden has expanded my
horizons and given me the chance
to follow and get inspired by the
Copenhagen techno scene and rave
parties with safe-space policies like
Fast Forward.”
Plútó has grown to be an indis-
pensable part of Reykjavík’s night-
life as they regularly perform at and
host a number of events—including
the closing set of Sónar Reykjavík
last year. “We’ve been getting posi-
tive reactions to our sounds, which
is great,” Tryggvi says. “And we per-
formed a night in Copenhagen ear-
lier this year, which was really fun.”
Tryggvi hopes to perform in
Reykjavík next time he is in town
and next year he plans on releasing
music that he has been working on,
on-and-off, since his teen years. “I
haven’t released a lot of it,” he ex-
plains. “I DJ bits and pieces I’ve made
and I like seeing people’s reaction, so
we’ll see what the future brings.”
Libiamo Ne'Lieti Calici Pt. 2
Reykjavík Opera Days: Free Play
Oct. 30th - 16:00,18:00 - Hafnarhús
- Free!
Remember back then, when you
were sick, nursing your
Tuberculosis while flirting with a
potential love interest at a party in
your salon? No? Well no worries, it’s
the Reykjavík Opera Days, and Free
Play will take a new turn on ‘La
Traviata.’ Sveinbjörn Thorarensen’s
electronic sounds and modern
soundscapes combined with
soprano Hrafnhildur Árnadóttir
Hafstað’s powerful voice take
Verdi’s classic opera and pimp the
hell out of it. CS
Ooky Spooky Shit
Halloween Iceland 2018
Oct. 27th - 21:00 - Gaukurinn -
2,000 ISK
Gaukurinn’s annual Halloween party
is a Reykjavík institution, drawing all
the dark ghouls of Reykjavík from
their caverns, cages and comas. But
listen here: No costume, no entry.
And that means no shitty costumes
like dressing completely normal
and calling yourself a "serial killer."
That's stupid. Stop by early for a
free beer, and make sure to arrive
by midnight for the costume
contest. If you’re an immortal
vampire, you’ll keep the bragging
rights forever. HJC
The Ether Speaks
GYDA ‘Evolution’ Release Show
Oct. 25th - 20:00 - Iðnó - 2,900 ISK
Gyða Valtýsdóttir, who initially
rose to prominence as a member
of múm, reemerges from a long
period of musical incubation with
her GYDA solo project. Her album,
‘Evolution,’ is a thoughtful collection
that brings together Gyða’s delicate
compositions written over a period
of years, then intuitively recorded
in just twenty days. The results
are a spellbinding form of hyper-
sensitive, ethereal musical poetry;
the release show is a must-see. JR