Hrafnkell Sigurdsson

Artist Hrafnkell Sigurdsson is represented by i8 Gallery in Reykjavik. His mission as stated by the gallery, "Hrafnkell Sigurdsson’s work examines the transitory elements in man’s relationship with nature and plays with ideas of reversal and ritual. His photographic series include images of empty tents in the snow, houses under construction, garbage bags in the streets, and most recently, portraits of trash."

It is this notion of the transitory elements in the relationship between man and nature that I am interested in. What we do with the earth, what we leave behind, how nature can destroy or take over what we built in the past, and even how these things effect us emotionally are some ideas that I have been trying to unearth in my thoughts and in some of my pieces.

I am working on an exhibition for my Curatorial Methods class and it deals with some of these notions of past and present, architecture vs. nature. Icelandic artists tend to deal with these issues quite often because I believe it is in Iceland where these things are happening, and where the natural landscape has effected culture for a very long time.

How to Speak Icelandic...What a trip

Check out this series of videos that are really good and very scary.

Speaking of a Sensorium...

Artist Finnbogi Petursson deals with the use of technology to help us engage with our senses more visually and on a higher level. For example, many of his works attempt to capture sound in a visually, like his work pictured here entitled Circle, (1991). In Circle Petursson hung a speaker that transmitted sound waves directly above a pool of water and projected the ripples it created on the wall. In his Watertanks Series, the piece Fire-Air is also an attempt to visually reproduce sound through fire which is really mesmerizing.

Petursson's work and many other Icelandic artists, like Olafur Eliasson deal with nature and our senses. I find it very interesting that Petursson and Eliasson share very similar ideas, Eliasson has done a piece similar to Circle but it focuses more on the viewer's movement on rickety walkways that creates the ripples in the water.

Machine Knitted Glaciers

The latest from the machine knitting studio is the stripe project. My stripe concept was based off glaciers and icebergs with striped designs. I used a bamboo and wool blend for the white yarn and Noro silk garden yarns for the other colors. I really enjoyed using the Noro yarns, they are fantastic and soooo beautiful. The image at above is the iceberg I was directly inspired from. I would like to go back a create a larger, blanket-size piece to hang on the wall or do something else with.

i8 Gallery in Reykjavik

i8 gallery in Reykjavik currently represents nineteen artists including Olafur Eliasson, Katrin Sigurdurdottir, and Gabriela Fridriksdottir. 

Spindlejoy

I just launched yet another blog for my hand-spun creations. If you like what you see and want to buy contact me to discuss details. Check it out at spindlejoy.blogspot.com.

Portfolio

Check out my portfolio! It still needs to be updated a little but until I can photograph the rest of my work I will do that asap

The Land of Vikings

For those of you who don't know me, I am infatuated with Iceland and I really hope I get a chance to go there some day. I have always been inspired by nature when it comes to my artwork and Iceland has an almost untouched raw and powerful landscape that is moving. I am interested in the random and sometimes predicted patterns of the natural landscape and our relationship with nature. Icelanders are perfect examples of people who care and are inspired by their environment on a daily basis.

It's the end of the school year...

...and I can't wait for summer. We are all very busy in the Textile department with final projects and everyone certainly has a lot to undertake but they will all look great when they are done.

My final project for weaving is based off glacier lakes from Iceland. It's a tapestry weave with exposed warp so I can't wait to see the end result...it's definitely time consuming though.