Skaftfell proudly presents a unique staging of the voice sculpture Folk Tale, Ævintýri, by Magnús Pálsson as a part of the ongoing summer exhibition, The Assembly of the Hyperboreans. The event will take place in a storehouse on the outskirts of town in collaboration with the fishmeal and oil factory Síldarvinnslan.
Magnús Pálsson was born 1929 in Eskifjörður, East Iceland, and it one of the most influential Icelandic artists. His vast body of work extends over six decades and crosses the borders of visual art, theatre and music. The voice sculpture is based on an Italian story about a gardener that finds a body on a field. After arriving back to the field the body has mysteriously disappeared.
Pálsson is a sculptor, sound poet, performer and teacher, and comes from a strong Fluxus background, where he and his contemporaries forged the beginnings of conceptualism and concrete poetry. As a sculptor, Pálsson dealt with enigma and touch by making casts of negative spaces and trapping ephemeral moments in solidifying plaster. His signature piece from that time is a cast of the space between the three wheels of a Sikorsky helicopter and its landing field, seconds before it actually touches down. Made in 1976, this work was exhibited in Venice in 1980 when Pálsson represented Iceland at the 37th Biennale. Gradually he moved away from solid material into the more fluid realm of sound and action where recently he has made works for choirs, JCB earth diggers, ghosts and children.
A newly founded theater group Grímur will perform the voice sculpture. The group consists of young people from East Iceland: Almar Blær Sigurjónsson, María Jóngerð Gunnlaugsdóttir, Sigurbjörg Lovísa Árnadóttir and Benjamín Fannar Árnason. They recently staged their first theater piece in Egilsstaðir, an original composed play about the Lagarfljót worm. Actress Halldóra Malin Pétursdóttir is an special advisor for the staging.
Directions to the location
Approx 20 min to walk from town center. Follow the main road to the outskirts of town and pass the tall white tanks of the Síldarvinnslan. Continue on the road up a hill and on your left is a large storehouse with a blue roof where the performance will take place: https://www.google.is/maps/@65.272491,-13.9790303,3a,90y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-5KvyGuol3Yf52HghbUOSw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=is
A part of the Assembly of the Hyperboreans
