Welcome to the opening of the group exhibition History Shapes
15 April 2 - 5 pm.
Opening performance with violinist Vera Panitch and performance artist Michael Richardt at 2.25 pm.
”As the door unlocks, a new world opens in front and inside of us. We may have passed the building many times before and pondered what lies behind (and beneath) the sleeping walls. Cautiously, we step inside.” From the exhibition text.
History Shapes is a coexisting exhibition situated in the former Quarantine Hospital in Ánanaust, exploring history and locality in conversation with contemporary art. Through time-crossings and intimate realities, the space opens for yearning, withdrawal, silence and escapism, manifesting emotions we all recall, while binding the past with the present, uniting the interior with the exterior. “My exhibitions set a mood. They draw a beautiful analogy between the psychology of our surroundings and architecture and the psychology of ourselves” - Emilie’s words.
In 1902, a national law mandated quarantine housing for people with epidemic diseases in Iceland, and in 1906 the sanatorium at Ánanaust 11 was built. Hospital residents often arrived by boat after traveling abroad: children, adults, old people—sick with measles, Spanish flu, tuberculosis, typhoid, poliomyelitis—who were isolated, sometimes for months, from the rest of society. Some survived. Others didn’t. The energy in History Shapes revolves around transformation, disease, and trauma, which manifest as fantastical entities. The artists share a deep familiarity with intimacy, bodily brutality, and inner worlds.
Artists: Guðrún Vera Hjartardóttir, Jonna - Jónborg Sigurðardóttir, Kolbeinn Jón Magnússon, Michael Richardt, Vera Panitch, Þórir Gunnarsson - Listapúkinn & Emilie Dalum
Curator: Emilie Dalum The exhibition is the graduating project of Emilie Dalum from MA in Curatorial Practice at the Iceland University of the Arts.
Location: Sóttvarnarhúsið in Ánanaust, Ánanaust 11, 101 Reykjavík
Opening: 15 April at 2 - 5 pm. Eight-minute live performance with violinist Vera Panitch and performance artist Michael Richardt at 2.25 pm.
In the opening performance FARVAND, the waves of a violin and vocal singing awaken the house. Separated from each other, the sounds whirl across time and space. The performance can only be experienced live on the day of the opening.
Opening hours:
Sat. 15 April: 2 - 5 pm
Sun. 16 April: 2 - 5 pm
Wed. 19 April: 2 - 5 pm
Thur. 20 April: 3 - 6 pm
Fri. 21 April: 1 - 4 pm
Sat. 22 April: 3 - 5 pm
Sun 23 April: 14 - 17 pm
Thur. 27 April (Good Thursday): 6 - 9 pm
The exhibition is open when the door is unlocked and on request.
Last day of the exhibition is 27 April. The exhibition is made possible with the generous support from The Government Property Agency. The house is not wheelchair accessible.
My sincere thanks to:
All artists, Becky Forsythe, Björgvin Agnarsson, FSRE, Gabe Dunsmith, Hanna Styrmisdóttir, IUA, Nina Mørkeberg, Unnur Rafnsdóttir & Hermann Sigurjónsson.
Emilie Dalum (b.1989 in Denmark) is an independent curator, project manager and visual artist, whose practice investigates inclusiveness, site-specific curating and the power of time-crossing exhibition formats. Graduating with a MA in Curatorial Practice from the Iceland University of the Arts in summer 2023, she also holds a BA in European Ethnology from the University of Copenhagen and a diploma from Fatamorgana The Danish School of Art Photography. She is the founder, curator and project manager of the exhibition projects The Factory in Djúpavík and The Tub in Þingeyri. Her own works of art have been exhibited in institutions and art spaces in Iceland. She is a board member of Sequences Real Time Art Festival.
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Opnun af samsýningunnni Sagan mótar
15 apríl kl. 14 - 17.
Kl. 14:25 hefst átta mínútna gjörningur Veru Panitch, fiðluleikara, og Michael Richardt, gjörningalistamanns.
“Þegar hurðin hrekkur úr lás blasir við okkur ný veröld, bæði fyrir framan okkur og innra með okkur. Kannski höfum við margoft gengið framhjá húsinu og velt því fyrir okkur hvað leynist á bakvið (og undir) grafarþögn veggjana. Varlega stígum við inn.” Frá sýningartextanum.
Sagan mótar er heildstæð sýning í Sóttvarnahúsinu í Ánanaustum þar sem saga hússins og nærumhverfið er ígrundað í samtali við samtímalist. Tímanæmi og nánd í rýminu opna fyrir kunnuglegar tilfinningar á borð við þrá, afturhvarf, kyrrleika og undanhald sem tengja fortíð við nútíð, innra byrðið við ytra byrðið. Emilie segir m.a.: “Sýningar mínar skapa hughrif; þær draga fram blæbrigðaríkar líkingar á milli vitundar og sögu náttúrlegs og manngerðs umhverfis okkar annars vegar og sjálfsvitundar okkar hins vegar”.
Árið 1902, voru þingsett lög um að byggð skildu sóttvarnarhús fyrir fólk með faraldssjúkdóma á Íslandi, og var Sóttvarnarhúsið í Ánanaust 11 byggt árið 1906. Sjúklingar sóttvarnarhúsins voru oft farþegar skipa sem komu að utan. Börn, fullorðnir, eldra fólk - með misslinga, spænsku veikina, berkla, taugaveiki, mænusótt - var sett í einangrun, stundum svo mánuðum skipti. Sumir lifðu af. Aðrir ekki.
Andinn í sýningunni Sagan mótar hverfist um ummyndanir, sjúkdóma og tráma, og birtast sem kynjaverur. Listamennirnir deila djúpt með sér kunnugleika við líkamlega ömurð, nánd, og innri heima.
Listamenn: Guðrún Vera Hjartardóttir, Jonna - Jónborg Sigurðardóttir, Kolbeinn Jón Magnússon, Michael Richardt, Vera Panitch, Þórir Gunnarsson – Listapúkinn & Emilie Dalum.
Sýningarstjórn: Emilie Dalum Sýningin er útskriftarverkefni Emilie Dalum sem er að ljúka meistaranámi í sýningagerð við Listaháskóla Íslands.
Staður: Sóttvarnahúsið í Ánanaustum, Ánanaust 11, 101 Reykjavík
Opnun: 15. apríl frá kl. 14 - 17. Kl. 14:25 hefst átta mínútna gjörningur Veru Panitch, fiðluleikara, og Michael Richardt, gjörningalistamanns.
Við opnunar-gjörningin FARVAND mun ómur fiðlu og söngs vekja húsið. Aðskilin frá hvort öðru flökta hljómarnir í tíma og rúmi.
