Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.12.2019, Side 15

The Trail Of The
Cosmonauts
Matthew Broadhead’s photo exhibition beams 1960s
astronauts into the present day
Before man simultaneously took one
small step and one giant leap, more
than 30 astronauts travelled to Iceland
to train for the unique challenges they
might face on a lunar walk. It was this
unique and oft-forgotten piece of histo-
ry that inspired Bristol-based photog-
rapher Matthew Broadhead to cross the
Atlantic for his new exhibition, ‘Space
for Humans: The Moon on Earth’ at the
Reykjavík Museum of Photography.
One Google search term
“I had specific criterium that I wanted
in a new project. I was interested in
astronomy and geology and I wanted
something fresh,” Matthew relays. He
talks in a point-by-point manner, stoi-
cally, almost like he’s giving a presen-
tation. “I thought maybe I should be a
bit ambitious so I literally did a search
term on Google—‘astronomy geology
Iceland’—and one of the first things
that came up was the Exploration Mu-
seum in Húsavík.”
Run by astronaut enthusiast Örlygur
Hnefill Örlygsson, the Exploration Mu-
seum is one of Iceland’s most peculiar
treasures—a gallery devoted to pho-
tographs and artefacts from the 1965
Apollo geology field trip in Iceland. The
site instantly fascinated Matthew, who
subsequently teamed up with Örlygur
to plan a trek following the trail of the
cosmonauts.
Mother Earth
Upon arrival, Iceland’s otherworldly ex-
terior and its history in the space race
instantly captivated the photographer,
and also made him reflect on his own
relationship with the pale blue dot.
“There was this particular emphasis
that our own planet isn’t fascinating
enough and space exploration maybe
was setting a precedent for forgetting
about our own planet a little,” he ex-
plains. “Like, oh we found some other
habitable planet so we’re forgetting our
own. I felt really strongly about Earth
being Mother Earth.”
To relay these emotions, Matthew
endeavoured to capture each compo-
nent of the landscape individually. “By
isolating certain aspects of a landscape,
you can imagine it as the moon or as an
analogue to a planet like Mars,” he ex-
plains. “So there’s a romantic, literary
aspect as well.”
1960s to today
The exhibit is small, with but a few pho-
tos peppering the walls, contrasting
sharply with each other. For example,
on one wall, a portrait of Örlygur’s fa-
mous Apollo 11 spacesuit hangs sand-
wiched between the desolate Grjótagjá
lava cave and bustling Krafla Geother-
mal Power Plant.
“Every single photo has a story to
me,” Matthew says, pointing to the
spacesuit portrait. “Örlygur’s space-
suit is emblematic,” he adds softly. He
then gestures to the lava cave. “You
wouldn’t be able to tell because there
aren’t any astronauts in this picture,
but I saw a snapshot from the 1960s, a
photograph of astronauts just sitting
on this ridge. The first time I came to
Iceland I couldn’t find it, but I did the
second.”
He pauses, turning to the third in this
trio. “This geothermal power station
is a slight sidestep from the core con-
cept, but I think I was just in awe of the
technology in Iceland and that felt quite
relevant to the endeavour to get people
into space,” he explains. “So in a way, it
fits into the same sequence.” He stops
and smiles. “It also looks quite futuris-
tic, right?”
Words:
Hannah Jane
Cohen
Photo:
Art Bicnick
Words:
Alexander Le
Sage de Fontenay
Photo:
Matthew Eisman
CULTURE
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Matthew Broadhead - Space For Humans
I Love Rubbish
A deli!htful collection of carefully–composed
electronic dance-ban!ers
Hjalti Kaftu—an Icelandic play on
words meaning “shut up”—is the
musical-alter-ego of Pétur Eggerts-
son of noise-rock/punk band Skel-
kur í bringu and violin-techno-duo
Geigen. His debut release, ‘Ég elska
drasl’ (‘I Love Rubbish’), is a delight-
ful collection of carefully-composed
electronic dance-bangers, which are
well worth a listen.
Wild child
Pétur currently lives in Oakland,
California, where he’s finishing a
master’s degree in Music Composi-
tion. “There is a huge subculture of
free improvisation and experimental
composition here,” he explains. “Be
it electronic or instrumental, there
is a show almost every night with
some wild sounds.”
One of the composer’s chief pas-
Info
‘Space for
Humans: The Moon
on Earth’ is open
until February 3rd
at the Reykjavík
Museum Of
Photography.
Music
Cop Elli Grill’s
latest album
‘Rassa Bassi
Vol. 2’ online
at elligrillehf.
bandcamp.com
and stream his
entire catalogue
on Spotify.
Follow up on
Elli’s devious
behaviour at
instagram.com/
elligrillehf
sions has been electronic dance
music. “I grew up in rave-era Eng-
land as a young kid and became a
DJ during my college-years,” he ex-
plains. “I made a lot of dance music,
which nobody ever really heard. I
think I'm making up for that now.”
Sound and movement
For ‘Ég elska drasl,’ Pétur felt in-
spired by his experiences with
dance music as a whole. “I look at
the tracks as homages to certain
genres of dance music,” he says.
“Dance music is just an incredible
way to bring people together, to get
lost in sound and movement.”
Pétur likes to play with the
boundaries of music in his perfor-
mances. “I use non-electronic ob-
jects—loaves of bread, coffee mugs
and newspapers—as controllers
for activating sounds or interact-
ing with effects,” he says. “It’s me
seeing electronics being integrated
so much into our everyday lives and
finding ways to turn that around.”
Future beach balls
Currently, Pétur is working on a
two-track single and making plans
for future concerts. “I'll be in Reyk-
javík around the holidays and would
like to play a show then.” Pétur ex-
plains. “I’m working on equipment
that will give some control to the
audience. So, expect some interac-
tive beach-balls or something at my
next performance!”
A Horrible Sing-Along
Horrible Youth & Óværa
December 14th - 21:00 - Gaukurinn
- 1,500 ISK
There is only one way to prepare for
Christmas and honour the dark
Icelandic December, and that is by
listening to grinding death metal
and head banging rock ‘n roll, all
while screaming your lungs out and
spilling beer on yourself. If this
description sounds appealing, don’t
miss the excellent Horrible Youth
and Óværa party at Gaukurinn.
Icelandic Yule Lad costumes are
mandatory. OK, they’re not, but it
would get you into the mood. VG
You Only Christmas Once
Prins Jóló
December 14th - 20:00 - Gamla Bíó -
3,990 ISK
The King of silly lyrics, the Queen of
the Christmas Mood, and the Prince
of Póló, Prins Póló is here with his
beloved annual Christmas concert.
While his bemusing lyrics might be
more kick for Icelandic speakers,
we promise that his catchy
melodies work in any language. This
year, His Royal Majesty will share the
stage with musician friends from
Benni Hemm Hemm to Margrét
Arnardóttir. You only live once, so,
Jóló! VG
R.I.P. Happiness
Ólafur Elíasson: The Glacier Melt
Series 1999/2019
Until February 9th - Hafnarhús
Ready for an awesome end-of-the-
world-anxiety-attack? Iceland’s
most renowned artist, Ólafur
Elíasson, is here with a series of
pictures he has taken of Icelandic
glaciers spanning over 20 years.
Each tracks the depletion of the
landmarks. Climate deniers in
particular are invited. VG