The exhibition No site is an exhibition of the works of eight artists living in Iceland who are turning their gaze towards Icelandic nature. Björn Árnason, Claudia Hausfeld, Daniel Reuter, Edda Fransisca Kjarval, Ingvar Högni Ragnarsson, Katrín Elvarsdóttir, Pétur Thomsen and Stuart Richardson all work with photography as a medium. The works are all made in the timespan 2008 – 2015. The curators are Áslaug Íris Friðjónsdóttir and Unnur Mjöll S. Leifsdóttir.
Vanished Summer 5
Nature and landscape have long been a subject for artists. Consciously and unconsciously the tendency has been to glorify nature, for instance by fixating on well-known landmarks and historically important sites. In that aspect photography is no exception and in recent years that medium has played an important role in the image making of the tourist industry. We are surrounded by stunning landscape photos of beaming northern lights, grand glaciers, glassy lakes and colourful mountains.
The works in the exhibition reflects both inner and outer landscapes. Each artist views nature from their own perspective, their works evoking consciousness toward places that are familiar. The characteristics of the landscape relate to familiar places or personal experiences and memories. This is the landscape that we all know, the image we see when we look out of the car window on our travels in the countryside, the places that don’t have any names, the environment which is in-between the remarkable places. We know the light, the yellow grass, the sands, the snowfields, the lava, the greyness and the rain that erases the outlines of mountains and landmarks.
The artists participating in the exhibition No site have a different view of the landscape. They seek to capture the beauty in the moments that often go unnoticed.
The exhibition is on view until August 23, 2015 at Hafnarborg Centre of Culture and Fine Art.
