The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.2003, Page 26

162
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #4
place.
The prairies are frequently likened to the
ocean: the horizon is so distant and the sky
so big that a person is constantly humbled
by how large is the world and how small is
humanity. In this sense, it is a little less
strange that islanders would settle in the
middle of a giant continent, even if the
actual story of that settlement was more
accidental and contingent than deliberately
comparative. Sometimes I have thought of
Winnipeg as an island on dry land (the
urban equivalent of volcanic islands like
Dyrholaey or Petursey in Iceland).
Knowing that they are surrounded by dis-
tance and space has produced a sense of
mutual reliance that is manifested in the
city’s vibrant artistic community. The par-
allel to Iceland’s high level of participation
in cultural creation is striking. Islanders
know they must produce their own culture
if there is to be anything to pass on through
time.
Cultures must create their own cliches
since this helps to unite enough to get
things done, to make routines for living.
The columnar basalt motif used in
Hallgrfmskirkja is a case in point, and
Jonasson represents its edge against the
radiant blue of a northern sky. Elsewhere a
small, traditional Icelandic farmhouse is
dwarfed by an open expanse of ground,
suggesting both refuge and isolation. In the
shops of Iceland one finds its form repro-
duced in miniature as a souvenir, and
many, not quite so miniature, versions
appear tucked into corners of urban gar-
dens. Nostalgia for a sense of home, the
miniaturization suggests a desire to possess
its soothing certainty.
Home isn’t a place; it’s a state of mind in
which threat has receded and satisfaction
seems attainable. It is a place of comfort.
The gamble for those who seek a fresh start
is that a new sense of belonging may never
be found. Not every house is a home, and
not every country can feel like a homeland.
To abandon home is to surrender one’s self
to the power of the unknown, to the unre-
al, to the whims of strangers. Meaning
might come undone because home is its
guarantor, forming the centre of the world.
Such a connection is visible in Icelandic, in
which heim (home) and heimur (world)
bespeak a common origin.
The profound beauty of Jonasson’s art is
not its end purpose - these are not simple
decorative works. Rather, their loveliness
entices the viewer to linger and contem-
plate what archetypal figures suggest to be
a substratum below the surface of everyday
life. Using images drawn from geology,
genetics, archaeology, and myth as
metaphors for much slower accretions of
time, the artist takes us to a place of con-
stancy and continuance. In a modern world
now overwhelmingly experienced as in
flux, the sensing of deeper layers con-
sciously or unconsciously lived connects us
to what matters most. Reality requires ere-
Pharmacists:
ERNEST STEFANSON
GARRY FEDORCHUK
642-5504
IP^PHARMASAVE
We care
about your health
Centre and Fourth / Gimli, MB / ROC 1 BO