Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2020, Blaðsíða 30

30The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02— 2020Culture

Water and Blood
The Icelandic Love Corporation’s oracular new work
Words: Tara Njála In!varsdóttir Photo: Art Bicnick
Exhibition
Located in the National Gallery of
Iceland, 'Water and Blood' is open
until March 1st 2020. Join the ILC,
Sigri!ur "orgeirsdóttir, and Gu!ni
Tómasson on February 15th at 11:00
for an artist talk on 'Water and
Blood' (in Icelandic).
Water and Blood, the Icelandic
Love Corporation’s (ILC) video-in-
stallation in the National Gallery
of Iceland is inspired by the life
and art of Ásgrímur Jónsson (1876-
1958). Eirún Sigur!ardóttir and
Jóni Jónsdóttir—founding mem-
bers—pop out of the video and en-
ter into the room dressed in their
finest, just as they are on-screen.
“We are mixing together the
past and the present in a cocktail
which we present as: Water and
Blood,” Eirun shares. The premise
of the work came from a meeting
the collective had with a medium,
where they contacted the deceased
icon Ásgrímur himself. “We want-
ed to discover what was left out of
the history books.”
‘Medium-medium’
“We work across mediums in our
practice so we thought why not
with a medium?” Eirún explains.
This is the second time they’ve en-
gaged the research tool that they
refer to as ‘medium-medium.’
“When we first went to a medium
it was very dramatic,” Jóni adds.
“We won’t go into that here but
there was no turning back. It gave
so much to the process.”
Ásgrímur, who was one of the
first professional artists in Iceland,
was also a pioneer in drawing trolls
and hidden people.
The video address-
es these elements as
well. “Ásgrímur told
us when we met with
him that it was some-
t i mes l i ke some-
thing was reaching
through his hands
and painting through
him,” Jóní shares
matter-of-factly. “He
implied that he was
not alone in creating all his works…
We were certainly not alone in cre-
ating this work. We had amazing
people with us in this process —
Ásgrímur included.”
“Once we had spoken to him we
started to think about what com-
pels us as artists. What was it that
compelled him?” Jóni explains.
“We joke a bit that the work is a
collaboration with a deceased art-
ist, because he gave us so much.”
Eirún adds, “There are scenes in
the video that Ásgrímur showed
to the medium—the scene where
the young boy strokes the grass is
a memory he showed her.”
Forces of nature
The ILC see water and blood as
driving forces. “Water always finds
a way,” Jóní emphasises. “No mat-
ter if you try to block it, it always
finds another direction to flow
and thrive. It’s resourceful. Like
the artist and feminism, blood is
the creative force—artists are all
blood-related through creativity.”
The Icelandic Love Corpora-
tion are queens of the visual arts
in their own right,
and the group has
been hypnotising
and conjuring since
they formed the
group in 1996. “We
of ten ta l k about
the ILC as a tree,”
Eirún explains. “We
have to water it and
tend to it. There are
roots, and its wood-
en crown is gaining
rings. It’s growing up.” Jóní agrees.
“If we work hard, we will live for
800-years through our work.”
Grapevine PhotoAI tags this picture as "pickup artists"
“Blood is
the creative
force—art-
ists are all
blood-related
through cre-
ativity.”
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