Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.10.2019, Page 26

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The Skeleton
Is The Seat
Of The Soul
Ger!arsafn showcases artworks
on spiritual science’
Words: a rawlings Photo: Art Bicnick
Exhibition
‘Lots of tiny people’ is on show at
Ger!arsafn until January 5th, 2020.
A curious display of beakers,
glass bottles, and diagrams pop-
ulate the entrance to Ger!arsafn’s
group show ‘Lots of tiny people.’
The installation displays the rem-
nants of Canadian visual artist
Dawn Nilo’s ‘Just drink tea,’ a cer-
emony which opened the exhibi-
tion that explores anthroposophy
and the esoteric arts.
‘Lots of tiny people’ is populat-
ed with work by powerhouse art
names including Rudolf Steiner,
Joseph Beuys, and Hilma af Klint.
One part mystic, one part pseudo-
science, and several parts witchy
as fuck, the exhibition showcases
contemporary artists’ attempts to
make the spirit visible. The con-
fluence of the esoteric arts with
the physical sciences delivers a
bewitching exhibition.
Skeletal remains
Arising from studies in the sub-
conscious and her own dreams,
artist Gu!rún Vera Hjartardóttir
sculpts human anatomy and then
paints it charcoal or white. Verte-
brae dangle as an extension mid-
air. A spine slithers from a young
form’s back. The work is a study
in becoming—becoming human,
becoming more-than-human,
becoming a being.
Her work’s descrip-
tion quotes Rudolf
Steiner: “The skele-
ton is the seat of the
spirit.”
E l s e w h e r e i n
the gallery, Sigrún
Halldóra Gunnars-
dóttir (ÚaVon) of-
fers a blurred video
work with a body displayed, puls-
ing and writhing, on a table. This
body occasionally flickers from
sight to reveal a curled skeleton.
Sigrún’s work renders the skele-
ton supple, pliable. Spirit appears
partly glimpsed in the shift be-
tween body and bone.
Under the skin
The exhibition fills both floors
of the gallery. In the basement,
choreographer and dancer Mart-
je Brandsma has translated 24
of Philipp Tok’s simple line-
and-curve drawings into move-
ment. The result is filmed with
each shape present on the screen
alongside Martje as she dances.
Uli Hohmann’s soundscape tracks
the movements with a steady beep
of a medical monitor.
Movement materializes also in
events planned over the exhibi-
tion’s duration. In October, Sati
Katerina Fitzova led workshops
introducing participants to the
sacred dances of mystic George
Gurdjieff, whose lifework focused
on training the development of
consciousness. In November,
Dutch educator Edward de Boer
and Belgian art therapist Ruth
Bellinkx will offer a workshop in-
vestigating intuition in art.
Chalk outlines
The simplicity of Joseph Beuys’
blackboards are beguiling to be-
hold. The simple straight and
curved lines have been hand-
drawn with chalk on a blackboard.
The artist was present, but only
this trace of him remains in the
spectral touch of light on eyes.
The presence of the black-
boardgestures to-
wards the desire to
study or instruct.
So many of the
artists’ efforts to
make visible the
spirit appears in
progress or tem-
p ora r y, a s w it h
present ation on
a blackboard that
can be erased. The notional is
sketched, but never concretised.
Circles and circles and
Far from the tea ceremony at the
exhibition’s entrance, 14 large cy-
anotypes hang on the wall. Each
cyanotype is printed with min-
imalist geometry and spiritual
symbols. This work, too, is by
Dawn Nilo, and she draws on Ru-
dolph Steiner’s meditative exer-
cises to render her metamorphos-
ing blueprints.
Could blueprints or black-
boards outline ways to compre-
hend spirit or soul? Nilo’s re-
appearance at the exhibition’s
conclusion brings the curation
full-circle. If we walk the circle
enough times, our subtle bodies
may materialize.
Art
“One part mystic,
one part pseu-
doscience, and
several parts
witchy as fuck...”
An eye-catching piece by Gu!rún Vera Hjartardóttir
i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
24 October - 7 December 2019
YUI YAEGASHI
VISIT !ÓPAVO"#$
C#LT#$E HO#SES
AND EXPERIENCE

LOT%S OF
TINY PEOPLE
19.09.19&05.01.20
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MENNINGARHUSIN.
K O P A V O G U R . I S
Hamraborg 4–6(Kópavogur Bus 1,)2,)4,)28,)35 & 36
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ENJOY JAZZ,
POP AND
CLASSICAL
MUSIC ' MORE
Náttúrufræ*istofa Kópavogs(Natural History Museum of Kópavogur
Bókasafn Kópavogs(Kópavogur Public Library