Reykjavík Grapevine - apr 2021, Qupperneq 20

Artist/Curator/Friend
The undefinable relationship of Emilie Dalum and
Michael Richardt
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen Photos: Art Bicnick & Emilie Dalum
Exhibit
‘Nature in Transition - Shifting
Identities’ will open at the Nordic
House on April 17th.
“For the past half a year, I’ve
been writing a lot about what
is going on here, who we are to
each other. Friends? Artists? A
curator?” photographer Emilie
Dalum posits from across her
kitchen table to long duration
performance artist Michael Rich-
ardt. Neither have an answer.
But together, the two are like
yin and yang. Michael stands out.
In his wigs, bright clothing, and
completely fearless personality, he
catches the eye of everyone fortu-
nate enough to meet him. Emilie,
meanwhile, is quieter, less con-
spicuous. She refers to herself as
someone who documents, which
stands in opposition to Michael,
who, one infers, is documented.
Nonetheless, over the years, the
two have become woven together
in a way that surpasses language.
Their relationship is new territory.
Now, the two will exhibit to-
gether at the Nordic House as
part of the ‘Nature in Transi-
tion - Shifting Identities’ exhibi-
tion with a collaborative project
that includes ‘Densified Entity’, a
video work by Michael, ‘Michael’,
a photo series by Emilie, and ‘I
Am Calling For Colours’, a drift-
wood instal lation by Emilie.
Documentation begins
Emilie and Michael met in 2010
at Performers House in Silkeborg,
Denmark. “We didn’t speak that
much but I sometimes tell people
I was in awe of Michael,” Emilie
says. “High heels, big dresses—
that’s what he was wearing. And I
was very young and innocent, try-
ing to explore myself.”
Over the years they lost touch
until they both ended up in Iceland
in 2012. Emilie was on an exchange
programme from university while
Michael was working on a perfor-
mance photography project called
‘The Glass Dress’.
“And that was when you started
taking photos of me!” Michael ex-
claims. Emilie nods in response,
pointing at a photo close to her
kitchen table of Michael, which
was taken that year. At the time,
she hadn’t yet professionally stud-
ied photography, but her early
work with Michael ignited her pas-
sion for the medium, ultimately
changing her artistic life forever
and becoming the photo series ‘Mi-
chael’—a selection of which will be
shown at the Nordic House.
“I was always so appreciative of
her documenting me. I was also
hungry for that space to be medi-
ated. Something really started…”
Michael trails off. But like a twin,
Emilie quickly jumps in. “Without
us really knowing,” she concludes.
Emilie went on to intimately
document Michael’s life—not just
as a performer but in his daily
routines as well—in Michael’s Co-
penhagen rehearsal studio. There,
Michael, who was doing a project
based on his mother entitled ‘RULE
PINK’, began to dive into a deeper
place in his performance art than
he’d been before.
“I was feeling that a lot was hap-
pening in my space and in a way,
you became the only one who really
penetrated that intense strange
little bubble,” he says to Emilie, a
smile brightening his face.
We trust each other
Years later, they both ended up
back in Iceland studying at the
Arts Academy, which led them to
further intertwine artistically.
First, there was Michael’s perfor-
mance ‘Sun to Pearl’, which was a
message to five generations into
the future that saw Michael walk-
ing about the capital area express-
ing himself at the top of his lungs.
Emilie filmed it. Later, they began
work on a hybrid project—Michael
as artist, Emilie as curator—de-
veloped for the Hugarflug Confer-
ence, which brought them together
in an even stronger way.
“I wanted to do a performance
about calling in my Nigerien an-
cestry,” Michael explains. It fea-
tured a range of physical objects
made by Michael and placed by
Emilie, and a one-take video of
Michael’s powerful live perfor-
mance—which featured dark fig-
ures, newspaper articles, and his
thundering voice—filmed by Emi-
lie.
In the exhibition ‘Nature in
Transition - Shifting Identities’
the Nordic House will pair Emi-
lie and Michael together, bringing
them into a closer dialogue than
they ever have been before.
“We trust each other,” Emilie
concludes strongly smiling at Mi-
chael, who returns it instantly. “If
you don’t have trust, you cannot do
something like this.”
Arti8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
CALLUM INNES
15 April - 29 May 2021
Open daily
10h00–17h00
artmuseum.is
#reykjavikartmuseum
Kjarvalsstaðir
Flókagata 24
105 Reykjavík
+354 411 6400
Eilíf
endur-
koma
Eternal
Recur-
rence
27.03.–19.09.2021
Jóhannes S. Kjarval
&
Eggert Pétursson
Egill Sæbjörnsson
Einar Garibaldi
Gjörningaklúbburinn
Guðrún Einarsdóttir
Guðrún Kristjánsdóttir
Hrafnkell Sigurðsson
Katrín Elvarsdóttir
Katrín Sigurðardóttir
Kristján Guðmundsson
Ólafur Elíasson
Páll Guðmundsson
Ragna Róbertsdóttir
Ragnar Kjartansson
Sigurður Guðjónsson
Steina
As of publishing date Emilie has now given birth to a beautiful baby! Congrats!
One of Emilie Dalum's 'Michael' series