Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.10.2019, Qupperneq 16

“The photographers gave their work
for the exhibition because they [be-
lieve it’s] an important exhibition
about the dangers to the environment
in Iceland,” says Ólafur Sveinsson of
his first exhibition, ‘You don’t know
what you have until it’s gone.’ “One
tends to only see the landscape and not
the animals that are living in Iceland.
We are trying to bring it together to
see it as one being.”
The exhibition is co-presented by
curator Ólafur Sveinsson, Landvernd,
the Nordic House, and Framtí!arland-
i! (Future Iceland) to mark the 50th
anniversary of Landvernd. As an NGO,
Landvernd has been instrumental in
land protection strategies that have
impacted policy-making, education,
and land-use decisions for the dura-
tion of its existence.
The exhibition features 73 phot-
graphs of Icelandic wildlife and land-
scapes, an interactive information
screen, and three films—two of which
were created by Ólafur. The films have
English subtitles, so that “foreigners
can enjoy this exhibition just as much
as Icelanders,” he says. “It's an inter-
esting view on Icelandic nature that
even Icelanders don't see everyday. It
makes a difference in a positive way.”
Caring for Kárahnjúkar
The landscape photos included in the
exhibition, Ólafur explains, “are either
from places that have been destroyed
or places that a new power plant could
destroy.” Each photograph is accom-
panied by a description indicating if
it has disappeared or if it is currently
under threat.
One such photograph is of Hálslón,
the reservoir from the Kárahnjúkar
power plant erected in the east high-
lands over a decade ago. “There was a
big fight about the Kárahnjúkar power
plant from 2002 until it [began op-
erating] in 2007,” Ólafur recalls. “It's
a strange thing. When I came to the
highlands by Kárahnjúkar in 2006 to
make a documentary about the area,
I saw a hell of a lot of vegetation, dif-
ferent than we see elsewhere in the
country. I had been working as a tour
guide for 13 summers but I had never
been there. What surprised me the
most was that almost no one knew
that there was so much life there. It
was not only desert and quietness. It
was also teeming with life. One month
later they started collecting water in
Hálslón and destroyed the area. It was
one of the biggest natural treasures we
had in Iceland. People just didn’t real-
ize because almost no one knew it.”
The decision to focus the exhibi-
tion on at-risk landscapes and wildlife
offers visitors an opportunity to wit-
ness nature that is otherwise difficult
to access in person. “You really don't
realise what has been lost if you haven't
been there—like Hálslón before it was
flooded,” Ólafur shares. “It was such an
amazing place. In the three short films
from the exhibition, you can see how
it looked before it was destroyed. I am
trying to do what I can as a way to get
people to think about what has been
lost.”
Mapping power
“People think that now Landsvirkjun
are not building power plants any-
where because of this fight,” says Óla-
fur. One of the exhibition’s co-present-
ers, Framtí!arlandi! (Future Iceland)
has created an interactive information
screen to dispel this myth. The screen
features a map for proposed, under de-
velopment, and complete power plant
projects throughout the country. It
also plots areas that have received pro-
tection from power plant development.
One such example is the proposed
Hvalá power plant in the Westfjords.
Culture
Over The Hill
Art advocates land and wildlife protection on Landvernd’s 50th anniversary

Art Exhibition
The exhibition ‘You
don’t know what
you have until it’s
gone’ will run until
November 17th at
the Nordic House.
16The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 19— 2019
That feeling when you forget your hat on the walk to work
Words:
a rawlings
Photos:
Art Bicnick
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