Gathering - online international exhibition in times of social distancing

Different art practises come together in the exhibition Gathering which comprises works by seven international Fine Art students. It is a collaboration between Masters students at University of Iceland and The Icelandic Academy of Art, and was originally planned to open in Veröld- House of Vigdís at the University of Iceland. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting gathering ban the exhibition was unable to go ahead as planned but will instead take place on the website samkoma.cargo.site which opens formally at 5 pm on Thursday 16 April.

Ironically the organisers had landed on the title Gathering weeks before any news of a gathering ban was introduced. Originally selected to represent the gathering of the different artists and their works through the process of curating, while also relating to Veröld - House of Vigdís- which is an international centre for multilingualism and interculture. It is also home of the language departments in the University of Iceland and therefore by its nature is a centre of gathering and connecting people through the device of language.

Partaking artists developed new works from the ontological meaning of the word world - meaning the "world" of an individual. The word Veröld shares entomological roots with its Old English counterpart ‘Weorold’, the literal translation being ‘Age or life of Man´ which connects to the phenomenological concept of Lebenswelt (Life World) as described in the writing of Edmund Husserl (1859-1938). It emphasizes the importance of the subjective world of the individual - the world that we live in everyday and have a personal relationship with.

By placing different artworks together a new abstract form is gained - a brave new world - where people can gather.

Artists:
Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir (IS)
Brian Wyse (IRE)
Eugénie Touzé (FR)
Evija Pintane (LV)
Júlía Mogensen (IS)
Romain Causel (FR)
Solveig Pálsdóttir (IS)

Curators:
Auður Inez Sellgren (IS/NO)
Estrid Thorvaldsdóttir (SE/IS)
Hrafnhildur Gissurardóttir (IS)
Jennifer Barrett (UK)

Teacher HÍ:
Æsa Sigurjónsdóttir

Teacher LHÍ:
Páll Haukur Björnsson