Steinunn Gunnlaugsdóttir
a) Rainbow - Seagull and Men
b) Within Fortress Walls - We See Neither Mountains nor Sea
c) From The Diary of the Police
d) A Houseless Queen - Collector - Sang Like an Angel and Then Disapeared
e) Sunkissed Smile Pees on the Parliament: “Oh, Come the Junkies, Power Junkies!”
f) Excited Delirium Syndrome (Not From the Diary of the Police)
g) No One Entertains Themselves With Vandalism
2022
Concrete, text
SEVEN LOCATIONS
a) Pathway by Sæbraut and Faxagata
b) Corner of Lindargata and Frakkastígur
c) Corner of Egilsgata and Snorrabraut
d) Carpark by Gamla Hringbraut and Vatnsmýrarvegur
e) Pathway by Sæmundargata and Hringbraut
f) Sæmundargata by The Nordic House
g) Corner of Suðurgata and Þorragata
Within Fortress Walls consists of seven large sidewalk units that have been distributed throughout the city center. Each unit weighs about a ton and might seem rough and sometimes chaotic, but together these concrete reliefs form a sincere collection of poems inspired by Reykjavik City. On the surface of the concrete, we notice traces of something that already took place, perhaps some hidden actions that happened during the deep dark night. The text on the metal plates also give insights to these specific event. In each work Steinunn draws inspiration from different sources; personal experiences or stories or from the notes of official police diary entries. However what all the lyrical relief have in common is that they lend their voice to those who are at odds with, or on the fringes of 'accepted' society. Some of the works are indirectly dedicated to people who are, or were, walking the streets of Reykjavík.
With a mix of merriment and seriousness Steinunn tackles the multiple ideological and ethical systems that humans create, are born into, tolerate and fight against. By observing and deconstructing / stripping the basis of the civilized human world she creates material for her attempts to address the present. Steinunn Gunnlaugsdóttir (born 1983) graduated from the Visual Arts Department of Iceland University of the Arts 2008 and studied at the Ashkal Alwan cultural institution in Beirut, Lebanon 2013-2014. Steinunn was nominated for the Visual Art Award as the artist of the year in 2018 and received a prize from the Richard Serra fund for her contribution to sculpture in 2021.