The exhibition Solander 250 — Letters from Iceland commemorates one of the first foreign scientific expeditions to Iceland which took place 250 years ago in 1772. On this journey was one of Carl von Linné‘s apostles, the Swedish natural scientist Daniel Solander. Among the things Solander and his fellow travellers recorded in Iceland were nature, culture, traditions and clothing styles. Ten Icelandic artists, all printmakers, were selected to interpret these events, as well as how the nation and the country have changed since then. 

Eldprent, gum brichromate and volcanic ash, 2022

My piece in the exhibit, Eldprent, is a response to the official purpose of the expedition, which was to observe the Hekla volcano. The travelers were 10 years too late to catch the eruption, so I give them a small sized “tourist” eruption (Geldingardalur 2021). However, the image is overlaid with a warning printed with volcanic ash - the opening handwritten lines from Eldritið, which details the devastating results of the Laki eruption in 1783. The print was created using the historic gum bichromate process and is an edition of 10, each with slight variations as is the nature of the process. To purchase, please contact me on my contact page for more information.

The exhibition is a collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden in Iceland and the Icelandic Printmakers Association. It opened at Hafnarborg Gallery in August, 2022 and is traveling to 11 locations around Iceland to the end of 2023.

More information about the Solander 250 Exhibition

SÍM gallerí, Hafnarstræti 16
4.–25. mars, mán–fös kl. 10–16

2020 was a year for introspection and slowing down while living things continue to grow and mutate around us as they do. During isolation and quarantine, artworks were born of visual ideas which also grew and changed during the year. The imagery in Living comes from within a small radius from my place of quarantine—mostly from the area surrounding the Tjörnin pond in downtown Reykjavík. The key works in the show are an unconscious depiction of the organized chaos of life. Included in the show are works made using the gum bichromate, cyanotype and photogravure processes.

I Remember the Mountain / Man ég fjallið continues the theme of my recent exhibit, Earth Portraits, with the added filter of memory to the mix. The landscape, similar to a human subject, is always changing and is hard to pin down in a moment. Weather conditions, seasons, lighting, natural forces and human interference all have an effect on what is perceived. By reworking an image captured several years ago, it takes on a life of its own, becoming more and more like a dream.

I Remember the Mountain opens with a reception on June 13th, 4-6pm at the Reykjavík Museum of Photography.