Video work, 4 min, 2012.
Narrated by Garðar Thór Cortes.
Shot by Habby Osk
1957 book catalogue installation, text work, 2012.
This video was presented at the exhibition Global — Local in Akureyri Art Museum, curated by Hlynur Helgason. Held on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Akureyri, this group exhibition contained work by artists connected to the town.
The central theme of the work is the life and writings of renowned children books’ author Nonni (Jón Sveinsson), who lived in Akureyri in his youth but moved to France as a young boy and lived there for the most part of his life. In the video the artist slowly paints herself with black paint, transforming herself into something similar to an animal or a clown. During this process of deleting/transforming her identity, the singer Garðar Thór Cortes reads a poem which builds on events from Nonni’s life. The video is mournful, yet playful, as the author’s books.
In another part of the exhibition, the text Nonni wasn’t happy in Akureyri, was written with white color, barely noticeable. Next to it was a brochure, a book catalogue from 1957, in which it was presented that two new books by Nonni were to be published: Nonni in Japan and Nonni becomes happy.