Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.05.2019, Page 2

Elín Elísabet is an illus-
trator and cartoonist
born and raised in
Borgarnes. At the
tender age of 15, Elín
moved to Reykjavík
and hasn’t looked
back, except for the
annual springtime
impulse to move
someplace quiet
and keep chickens.
Elín likes folk music,
stationery, seal vid-
eos, the country of
Ireland, and eggs.
Hannah Jane Cohen
is based out of Ice-
land by way of New
York. An alumni of
Columbia University,
Hannah has lived
on five continents
and speaks three
languages fluently.
Her visionary work is
known for expand-
ing the definitions of
emotion, introspec-
tion, and above all
else, taste.
John Rogers is an
Englishman who first
joined Grapevine
as a music writer,
later graduating to
Managing Editor. A
constant traveller
and a lover of art,
culture, food & night-
life, he edits our Best
of Reykjavík, Best of
Iceland, and Iceland
Airwaves sister
publications. His first
book, “Real Life,” was
published in 2014.
Art Bicnick is a man
of mystery, moving
like the wind through
the parties, soirées,
openings and so-
cialite events of Rey-
kjavík. Sometimes he
can be seen abroad
in the countryside,
braving the spray
of a waterfall or the
frozen glacier air.
Always, he will have a
camera, document-
ing the moves of his
writer companion.
Sveinbjörn Pálsson
is our Art Director.
He's responsible for
the design of the
magazine and the
cover photography.
When he's not work-
ing here, he DJs as
Terrordisco, hosts
the Funkþátturinn
radio show, or sits at
a table in a Laugarda-
lur café, drinking
copious amounts of
coffee and thinking
about fonts.
Shruthi Basappa
traded the warmth
of Indian summers
for Iceland's Arctic
winds. She's a food
enthusiast masquer-
ading as an architect
at Sei Studio, and
loves obsessive
attention to detail.
When not leading
our Best of Reykjavík
food panel, she can
be found trying to
become a Michelin
restaurant inspector.
Andie Fontaine has
lived in Iceland since
1999 and has been
reporting since 2003.
They were the first
foreign-born mem-
ber of the Icelandic
Parliament, in 2007-
08, an experience
they recommend for
anyone who wants
to experience a
workplace where
colleagues work tire-
lessly to undermine
each other.
Sam Daniels is a
connoisseur of the
weird and wonder-
ful. Originally from
the UK, he moved to
Iceland a few years
ago and never looked
back. He enjoys
writing poetry, novels
and short stories
and finds amazing
amounts of inspira-
tion in the tales of
Norse mythology and
Icelandic folklore.
Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir
is a national treasure.
One of Iceland's
leading illustra-
tors, when she's
not drawing in her
unique style, she's
the front-woman of
Icelandic electro-
pop supergroup FM
Belfast. Her comic
strip Lóaboratorium
appears every issue
on page 8, and is also
available as a daily
dose on her Twitter.
First 06: Hatari Return From Israel10: The Smiters Take A Summer Vacation12: US Republicanism Comes To Iceland
20: Shoplifter At The
Venice Biennale
28: The Chamber Jazz
Of Mikael Máni
30: Björk's Cornucopia
Is A Wake Up Call
32: Taking A Ride
With Brynhildur
42: Eco-Tourism On The
Green Circle
44: A Road Trip To
Látrabjarg
The only way to navigate
the contemporary discus-
sion in Iceland—and not to lose your
mind or fall into a deep depression—
is to turn current events into jokes.
Iceland have had several their surreal
moments these past weeks and we can
only shake our heads and think: they’re
joking, right?
So here goes.
1. Hatari are back from Eurovision, alive
and well after they pulled their instantly
notorious flag stunt on live television.
Apparently it's legal in Eurovision to
wave all the flags of the world except
the Palestinian one, because Palestine
has only been officially acknowledged by
137 countries so far. So Eurovision have
taken their time to deliberate if there
is a reason to punish the team for this
horrific political act in the unpolitical
safe haven of Eurovision—|where peace
is a radical choice of words.
Our only thought is—how does one
actually punish a nihilist-BDSM-post
apocalyptic-anti-capitalist-techno
band? A good spanking comes to mind.
But only if Jon Ola Sand, the Execu-
tive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song
Contest, handles the actual spanking.
But I fear that it would not suffice. Not
even for the sadists in Hatari.
2. And then it was announced in the
middle of May that our own personal
walking mountain, Clegane the zombie-
monster, from Game of Thrones,
Hafþór Júlíus Karlsson, just became
the spokesperson for SodaStream. You
know, the home drinks machines that
are Israel’s best-known export. Perhaps
you remember the name from the BDS
Movement’s list of things they want you
to boycott in Israel because of the occu-
pation in Palestine. Talk about method
acting.
3. After all the debate, the Icelandic radi-
cals were left strangling the moderates
and hating Hatari as much as the Israeli
government—and we kind of ended up
advertising SodaStream with our thick
Icelandic accents. Even Hatari couldn’t
have foreseen that joke. VG
EDITORIAL
ON THE COVER:
Ari Eldjárn
PHOTO
Hörður Sveinsson
with Sveinbjörn Pálsson
ABOUT THE PICTURE:
Due to last-minute
circumstances, our Art
Director Sveinbjörn and
photographer Hörður
Sveinsson went to Ari's
house. The cover was
largely improvised, an
attempt to capture
images that were both
serious and funny at the
same time.
The cover typeface is
Schijn by Typearture,
and the feature
typeface is Marianne
by BB-Bureau.
Three Jokes For Haters
More info and tickets
lavacentre.is
Open every day
9:00 - 19:00
Volcano &
Earthquake
Exhibition
LAVA Centre is an awarded, interactive exhibition
on Icelandic volcanoes and earthquakes. Learn
about the most active Icelandic volcanoes and
see all the latest eruptions in 4K. Lava Centre is
a mandatory stop on your Golden Circle or South
Coast adventure.
Located in Hvolsvöllur
80 min drive from Reykjavík
Photo: Eyjafjallajökull Eruption 2010