Atlantica - 01.11.2002, Blaðsíða 31

A T L A N T I C A 29
in Grafarvogur (a suburb of Reykjavík)
commissioned a sculpture from ILC to
be raised on school grounds. The ladies
have since designed a giant stainless
steel diamond that will look as though it
fell from the sky and crashed into the
parking lot.
“The students are going to be a bit
upset when they drive to school and
find out that we’ve used three of their
parking spots for this sculpture,” Jóní
giggles.
While designing this piece, the trio
also wrote a short film that will begin
shooting in November. The film, about
three curious women who get into trou-
ble (Wonder who it’s about?), will run
roughly five minutes and is, as they all
agree, a long trailer for an imaginary
action film.
“Audiences are so advanced they no
longer need to see the entire movie, just
the trailer,” Sigrún says wistfully.
On the curiosity scale of one to ten,
the three women rate themselves as an
11, which is interesting considering that
their most well known installation to
date relied on curiosity for its popularity.
The piece was called ‘Hotel Paradise’. It
centred around a trampoline positioned
in front of a 3m-high, mirrored box.
Gallery-goers curious as to what was in
the box could only see inside by jump-
ing on the trampoline, and while jump-
ing could also look at themselves in the
mirror. So what was inside the box?
You’ll have to start jumping to answer
that one.
The idea behind ‘Hotel Paradise’ is
one reason why ILC are so popular. The
trio, metaphorically speaking, paints the
audience into their creations – the audi-
ence becomes a part of the performance
or installation.
“We are people’s artists,” Sigrún says,
summing up the secret of their success.
And it’s not just Iceland that’s rallying
around ILC. The trio has held exhibitions
and performances in numerous coun-
tries, including Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, the UK, Canada, and many
cities across the US. They even have a
book coming out, jointly published by
the Nordic Institute for Contemporary
Art (NIFCA) and Diamond Heart
Projects.
The book, currently untitled, is written
by Francis McKee, who has interviewed
the trio at length. He’s also included a
few “epic” short stories inspired by ILC.
The book is a prestigious honour. The
ladies proudly point out that of the
series of works that NIFCA will publish,
their book will be the thickest.
ILC may be a trio of carefree artists,
but that doesn’t mean Eirún, Sigrún and
Jóní aren’t competitive.
Being competitive and curious drives
ILC. These characteristics have enabled
them to support themselves through
their art, to become free of the entangle-
ments of everyday, nine-to-five jobs. It’s
what fuels their creations.
“Curiosity is like a drug that can
sometimes lead to negative things,”
says Sigrún, setting up Jóní for her
interview-ending joke: “Yeah, like when
you go to a porn party.”
Curious? I guess you’ll have to buy
the book.
For more information on
The Icelandic Love Corporation,
log on to www.ilc.is
Edward Weinman is a staff writer.
...WE DON’T MAKE ART FOR “40-YEAR-OLD BIRTHDAY PARTIES”.
LOVE
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