Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.04.2019, Page 20

Brynjar Sigurðarson and Veronika Sedl-
mair—spouses and masterminds be-
hind Studio Brynjar & Veronika—define
the word undefinable. Their projects
run the gamut from hyper-realistic fake
stones to 3D moulds to sound installa-
tions and one-of-a-kind instruments.
While the two are often called design-
ers, that label seems utterly limiting
when put in conjunction with their
work. They are simply creators.
For years, they’ve toiled away mak-
ing bronze, glass, and everything in be-
tween out of their Marseille studio and
recently were rewarded when Brynjar
won the coveted Torsten & Wanja Söder-
bergs Prize. The two currently have an
exhibit, ‘Reservation,’ at Hafnarborg,
which began as part of DesignMarch.
Five unicorns
To understand the peculiarity and,
for lack of a better term, extremity of
Brynjar and Veronika’s works, you need
but look at one of their emblematic cre-
ations—an instrument called the circle
flute.
The idea came to the two spontane-
ously one day: a circular flute played by
four people surrounding the listener.
They instantly jumped headfirst into
the project, but soon found it was much
more complicated than originally an-
ticipated.
“Flute-makers are a dying species.
There are none in Germany and may-
be four in France,” Veronika explains.
From that pool, though, they had to find
one that could manipulate the mecha-
nisms of the flute into a circular shape
and enlarge it without sacrificing the
sound—not an easy task. That said, they
eventually found a specialised maker
in Paris. “This was where the design
started. He invented these small ball
joints. That was something new,” adds
Brynjar.
From there, they had to find players,
which proved to be just as difficult. In
order to play the circular flute as Bryn-
jar and Veronika desired, they’d have
to find flautists who could do circular
breathing—a technique flautists rarely
use. “Circular breathing is difficult on
the flute because you are blowing on
the mouthpiece with varied force rather
than into it,” Brynjar explains. “It’s re-
ally technical.” Technical, yes, and un-
common.
After a difficult search, they end-
ed up connecting with four flautists
from around Europe who were up for
the challenge, and employed Icelandic
composer Þráinn Hjálmarsson to cre-
ate music for them. After an intensive
retreat in the Westfjords with the group,
the musicians were ready and the circu-
lar flute made its debut. “In the middle,
it’s almost therapeutic,” Brynjar says.
“It becomes a physical experience. You
become a resonator. It’s quite beautiful.”
A beautiful mistake
The circular flute, though, is but one
of the couple’s creations, and they have
hundreds of similarly intricate and
thought-out pieces. ‘Reservation’ is
filled with these objects—each with a
detailed story behind its inception. The
exhibition is laid out in a large square
room. On one wall lies a large mural
of abstract shapes and perpendicular
to that sits a long table piled with ob-
jects like a buffet. Walking with Brynjar
along the length of the table, he points
out a few pieces and explains their pro-
cess.
On one corner lies a collection of mis-
cellaneous see-through objects. “Here,
Culture
The Beauty
Of The Process
Brynjar Sigurðarson and Veronika Sedlmair create their own path
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen Photos: Art Bicnick
Exhibition
‘Reservation’ will
be at Hafnarborg
until May 26th,
2019.
Studio Brynjar and Veronika IRL
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