Atlantica - 01.09.2002, Qupperneq 50

48 A T L A N T I C A
i-site MUSEUM❍
There’s a battle raging in the Pearl in Reykjavík. Snorri
Sturluson is deep in thought, whilst a child cries over losing
her father to the Black Death. The last Catholic bishop is
about to be beheaded, whilst the leader of the heathen faction
is sleeping in his barn trying to decide the fate of Christianity
in Iceland. At the same moment, the sister of Leifur the Lucky,
Freydís Eiríksdóttir, stands over the body of a murdered
Viking, holding her sword to her breast to frighten the attack-
ing Indians away.
History has been captured and recreated in full size, shape,
sound and colour at the Saga Museum, which opened in July
in one of the Pearl’s hot-water tanks. There you will find that
all of Iceland’s most famed historical figures have come back
from the dead, been through plastic surgery and arranged
themselves in their favourite moments in history. Passers-by
will hear fire crackling in the iron smelter of the great crafts-
man Skalla-Grímur and the laws of the land being declared by
the law speaker at Althingi. Visitors can follow the history of
Iceland with a CD-guided tour, from its volcanic beginning,
through settlement, land exploration, conversion to
Christianity, to the reformation and all that lies in between, as
they walk through the cave-like den of the museum.
The Saga Museum is the brainchild of Earnest Backman, an
industrial designer, who has been crafting, designing and
planning the museum for the past two years, along with the
help of friends, family and professionals. Backman attended
the Konstfach Art University in Sweden, where he learned to
use silicone rubber. “The fact that we use silicone rubber
makes our museum different to typical wax museums. Wax
figures have to be modelled, but using silicone rubber, I simply
make casts of people I know. Ingólfur Árnason and his wife are
made with casts of my wife and me. Snorri Sturluson is a fel-
low choir member and Freydís Eiríksdóttir is my sister,” says
Backman, smiling. He goes on to explain that the figures, their
clothing and the stage settings are all made with great detail
and as much accuracy as possible. The eyes are made from
genuine replacement eyes and the hair is real human hair. The
clothing was handmade and great efforts were made to make
the characters resemble descriptions of their appearance.
“Everything is exactly the way I wanted it to be,” says
Backman, “There is a lot of thought behind every single stage
piece and we’ve tried to make it seem like the guests are walk-
ing in on a moment in time,” he adds.
At the museum guests can watch a film which shows the mak-
ing of the silicone figures. Museum visitors can also make their
own Viking beads to take home and buy a Viking tunic to wear
on their travels around Iceland. AÓJ
Iceland’s History Gets Silicone Implants
THE SAGA MUSEUM OPENS AT THE PEARL
PHOTOS PÁLL STEFÁNSSON
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