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The Weight Of Air: Capturing the Intangible Through the Camera Lens of Ng Hui Hsien
A translucent fabric quietly billows to the left when you reach the upper floor of the Reykjavík City Library. The Weight of Air, a photography exhibition featuring the work of Ng Hui Hsien, is the first and last thing you see as…
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Accidental Ghosts: ‘Mihkel’ Is A Film Dramatisation Of A Grisly True-Crime Tale
In 2004, a body was found weighted down in an abandoned harbour near the east Iceland town of Neskaupstaður. The ensuing investigation revealed 61 carefully packaged capsules in the corpse’s stomach—amphetamine laced with cruor. The body had been wrapped in a blanket…
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Dancing In Darkness: The Icelandic Dance Company Welcomes Winter
Premiering in November at the arts festival Everybody’s Spectacular, The Best of Darkness by Erna Ómarsdóttir and Valdimar Jóhannsson is the final piece in a series of four works exploring the human body’s vulnerability in the absence of light. The pieces were…
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Yellow Weather Warning In Effect Across East Iceland
The Icelandic Meteorological Office has issued a yellow weather warning across the Northeast, Eastern Coastal Areas, East Fjords and the South East of Iceland as for tomorrow morning. Yellow weather warnings signal challenging conditions, specifically for drivers. The most dangerous areas to…
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Nationalising Words: Literature As A Means Of Bridging Iceland With The World
Unlike in most European languages, þýða, the Icelandic word for translation, denotes translation as the act of nationalising a foreign word, making the meaning agreeable to Icelanders. For Rúnar Helgi Vignisson, a well-established Icelandic writer, translator and associate professor at the University…
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Ask A Scientist: Why Are There No Telescope Arrays In Iceland?
Being as far north as we are, and given the vast swaths of the Highlands completely untouched by urban light pollution, you might think Iceland would be a great place to set up a giant telescope array. Yet there aren’t any. We…
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Ask a Historian: The Origins of Brennivín
Where did brennivín come from and how did it become the nation’s drink? In an effort to dispel rumours surrounding brennivín, the drink of Iceland, we asked historian Stefán Pálsson to clarify the origins of this fiery schnapps. “When the alcohol prohibition…
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Something Malevolent This Way Comes: Olaf de Fleur on adventure and exploration in the world of film
Info Available on Netflix Inspiration Icelandic film director, scriptwriter and producer, Olaf de Fleur Johannesson, enters the international Hollywood scene with Malevolent, which launched on Netflix October 5th. Set in Glasgow during the 80s, the film follows Angela (Florence Pugh) and Jackson…
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The Rise Of ROKKY: A New Star Arrives
Following the recent release of her debut single “My Lips,” Icelandic singer ROKKY took to the intimate attic stage of Dillon today, in the heart of Reykjavík, with a pop-up busking session. In the venue where she first started out, amidst the…
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The Faces Of The Financial Crisis: Ten Years After The Big Crash
2018 marks the tenth anniversary of Iceland’s devastating financial crisis. The beginning of the end can be traced back to events that unfolded in 2007, when the internal dealings and quationable loaning practices of Icelandic banks put foreign investors on edge. With…
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In Case You Missed It: The Peace Tower Is Lit Again
October 9 saw the annual lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower of Light on Viðey outside of Reykjavík. Created by Yoko Ono in 2007, the Imagine Peace Tower stands as a tribute for Ono’s late husband, musician John Lennon. The tower is…
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Icelandic Hotel’s Latest Employee: A Cat
Young Pál, like many from abroad, is here to try her luck in Iceland. However, the work of this employee is a wee bit different from the rest; her role with Fosshótel involves the catching of mice as official ´Mousekeeper´ in addition…
