Iceland review - 2015, Síða 76

74 ICELAND REVIEW
ART
POINTS OF VIEW
The exhibition takes place on all four floors of the Culture
House. It’s in seven parts: up, down, in, out, again and again, from
the cradle to the grave and mirror. These so-called ‘points-of-view’
will be on permanent display. “Artwork, archaeological artifacts,
letters, documents, manuscripts, items of natural history, album
covers… everything is displayed together. There’s no hierarchy,
no major or minor work, everything is on the same level,” states
curator Markús Þór Andrésson. “People were thinking about the
same things in the 13th century as they are today.”
Part of the viewpoint in, the elf cloth is being displayed in a
room dedicated to dreams and folk stories among the painting
‘Fateful Moment’ (1987) by Jóhanna Kristín Yngvadóttir of
a nightmarish scene; a woman’s saddle from 1751 with fairy-
tale-like wood carvings; ‘Map of Iceland’ (1590) by Abraham
Ortelius, who complemented it with detailed illustrations of
sea monsters at the advice of Bishop Guðbrandur Þorláksson; a
video which went viral in 2012, allegedly showing lake monster
Lagarfljótsormurinn; and the tusk of a narwhal which beached
in Iceland in 1921. “The narwhal tusk was connected with the
legend of the unicorn. As that idea is fed, it becomes more than a
natural specimen, more than a whale specimen; it becomes part of
a culture,” explains Markús. Narwhal tusks from Greenland used
to be sold to the European upper class as unicorn horns.
VOYAGE THROUGH VISUAL ART
“There are different options for experiencing the exhibition.
People can learn about the history of the house, using an audio
In a room dedicated to flora and fauna as part of the viewpoint
out. A painting by Helgi Þorgils Friðjónsson is
hanging on the wall.