PETROGRAPHIC PHENOMENOLOGY OF A SAILING STONE.
Curated by Riccardo Vailati.
2025, Rýmd, Völvufell 17, 111 Reykjavík.
The video piece presents a practical solution to an impractical problem. The artist attempts to move a boulder using a hand-powered wooden crank. Through this action, the work highlights the fragility and weakness of the human body when compared to the immense power of the surrounding natural world. The barren landscape and the presence of stone are central elements, echoing the way Kjarval’s paintings transform Icelandic rocks and lava fields into more than background — they become active, almost spiritual forces. In the same way, this work frames the boulder not as an object to be conquered, but as a reminder of human vulnerability within the vast and enduring presence of nature.
Beisla klettinn // Harness the cliff
2025, Rýmd, Völvufell 17, 111 Reykjavík.
Link to video
Sundkappar // Swimmers
2025, Rýmd, Völvufell 17, 111 Reykjavík.
The piece consists of six machine-driven rocks that roll freely in unpredictable directions. They attempt to mimic the natural phenomenon of “wandering stones,” whose slow, mysterious movements across desert landscapes have long fascinated observers. Connected by electric wires and fed from the same energy source, the rocks share a hidden lifeline that binds them together. By granting these heavy forms mobility, the work blurs the line between nature and mechanism, inviting reflection on autonomy, control, and the uncanny life of inanimate matter.
Sýni uppsprettu
// Specimen of time
2025, Rýmd, Völvufell 17, 111 Reykjavík.
Sýni uppsprettu // Specimen of Time consists of two sculptures, two stones. The stones act as records of time, functioning like sundials, with their shadows serving as natural clocks. By freezing the clocks, time itself is halted. The artist then objectifies the stones’ shadows, giving them three-dimensional weight and form. In this way, the shadow becomes a specimen of the past, drawn upward and suspended by threads.
Stone 1
Stone 2
