Iceland review - 2016, Side 18

16 ICELAND REVIEW ICELAND REVIEW 17
think of my artworks as postcards sent to myself while on the road. And by
dabbling in more than one medium, I have found I get a clearer picture of my
obsessions and the black holes inside myself than I would if I limited myself
to one medium. Working with numerous media increases the likelihood that
I will be surprised by the outcome of the work—and surprise is a feeling I
generally like when it comes to art.
How do you approach designing book covers?
Covers should tell the truth about what’s inside the book. I think they should
also give some sense of the ambiance of the book. I prefer covers with tension,
something unexpected, and imagery that is slightly more conceptual rather
than illustrative; something with dynamism that tries to convey a feeling.
You also teach at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, and elsewhere. How
does educating others impact your own work as an artist?
They say that you don’t know it until you’ve taught it, and I think they (who-
ever ‘they’ are) might have a point. Teaching, then, is in fact learning.
You play guitar and bass for the bands Benni Hemm Hemm,
Geirfuglarnir, and Mikligarður. Name your musical influences.
Elvis Presley’s music has been a consistent source of inspiration for me.
He’s been around forever, like the blue sky, and I still have a vague child-
hood memory of the day he died. I love Elvis’
first recordings, the singles recorded at Sun
Studios in Memphis. That’s pure rock-and-roll:
no drums, just a guitar, double bass, and Elvis’s
voice—music with a lot of space. Just three guys
standing there, playing, singing—all live. It’s a
beautiful thing.
Talk about the unique concept of your
publishing house, Tunglið Forlag.
In 2013, we discovered there were many books
by Icelandic authors that were not being pub-
lished through normal channels, due to their
length, content, or the fact that they were in
between genres. We wanted to create a publish-
ing house where the act of publication would
have a temporal quality, less like planting a tree,
more like pulling the pin from a hand grenade,
so we decided to create a publishing house
that only made 69 copies of each title. Instead
of immortalizing the author, these books are
published and sold only during a two-hour long
soirée on the evening of the full moon, and
then—we hope—quickly forgotten, so that the
authors and publishers can go on with their lives,
free and happy. To be sure, we burn any unsold
copies.
Does the small population of Iceland hold
you back as an artist/writer in any way?
I think working as an artist in Iceland is perfect,
both economically and creatively. Because of the
small population, competition between artists
is eliminated. There’s nothing to compete for,
as the idea of fame and fortune is practically
non-existent here. It allows you to focus on what
you love to do.
Tell us something about yourself that
people might be surprised to know.
My childhood hero was the polar explorer
Ernest Shackleton. It’s still a dream of mine to
visit the South Pole.
What’s next for you?
I’m finishing a collection of short stories that I
would like to publish in the spring, and I have
another poetry collection that I would like to
publish next summer or fall, so that people don’t
start thinking I’m too good a writer [he laughs].
I’m also doing art exhibitions in Finland and
France next year. *
10Q