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The Big Vibe Shift: Inside The Icelandic Brosphere
For reference, read this article for a deep-dive character analysis of the Brosphere’s main players. It was very clear in the early hours of December 1, 2024, that there had been a vibe shift in Iceland. The shift hadn’t happened overnight —…
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Fabricating A Migrant Crisis
Iceland’s immigration policy unleashed and unmasked In December 1938, the Salinger family – Erich, Gertrud and eight-year old Steffi – penned a letter to Icelandic authorities. In it, they explained they were seeking refuge from the rise of persecution of minorities – specifically…
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Nerds of Iceland, Unite!
You are entering a dimly lit room. Around you, figurines of humanoid and monstrous creatures occupy every available surface. You find a table littered with papers, but upon trying to read them you see the pages are covered in boxes filled with…
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“I Live A Really Normal Life”: Björk On New Album ‘Fossora’ And Being A ‘Cool Mom’
On a chilly Friday afternoon in late August, in an otherwise empty Reykjavik restaurant, Björk Guðmundsdóttir is having trouble focussing. “My eyes are going all over the place looking at the people, I can’t concentrate,” she complains jovially, getting up to switch…
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Instagram vs Reality: How The Digital Age Of Tourism Changed Iceland Forever
Tourism was the unexpected saviour of the Icelandic economy after the financial crisis of 2008, and since then social media platforms like Instagram have facilitated a huge boom in visitors. Fourteen years later, with tourist numbers expected to return to pre-pandemic figures…
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Into The Highlands: A Five Day Trek Into Iceland’s Wild Interior Desert
Note: Driving in Highlands requires advance research on everything from suitable car types to weather, road conditions, prohibited practises, and river crossings. Visit safetravel.is and road.is for further guidance. The engine judders to a halt, and we step out of the van…
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Making Waves: Braving The Sea With Iceland’s Crazy Surf Gang
Hovering precariously at the edge of the incoming tide, surfboard tucked under my arm, I watch as the grey waves crash over one another. The devouring, foaming, monstrous water that I’m about to plunge into is terrifying. Rut Sigurðardóttir, one of my…
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Second Sight: A Conversation With Sjón
“I write as little as possible,” says Sjón, with a barely perceptible smile and a twinkle in his eye. “In fact, I do everything I can to avoid actual writing.” When he issues this joking-not-joking statement, we’re sitting in a comfortable coffee…
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Killing Your Darlings With A Lawnmower To The Face: We Visit An Icelandic Horror Set
Despite possessing a desolate landscape, long winters, and prominent bodysnatcher demographic (sorry, Alþingi), Iceland is not really a landmark when it comes to horror movies—even though it certainly seems like the kind of place that should be. Thanks to a burgeoning national…
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Reality Bites
What do multi-level highway interchanges, cheeseburgers and donuts have in common? No, this is not about the police. Discordant harmonies Discordant intersections. That’s the verbatim translation of an Icelandic term curiously popular among the country’s city planners and in news reports around…
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Iceland’s National Sport: Football On The Edge Of The World
On a recent grey and drizzly summer evening, the streets of downtown Reykjavík were oddly empty. But other than the unseasonal weather, there was perhaps another factor in the quietness. Just outside of the downtown area, by the domestic airport, over 1000…
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Triumph At Tribeca: Dagur Kári’s Advent Into Adulthood
When news came through late one Sunday night in April that filmmaker Dagur Kári Pétursson’s latest film ‘Fúsi’ (AKA ‘Virgin Mountain’) had triumphed at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, winning three of the main awards (best original screenplay, best narrative…
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Known Unknowns: Mortal Orchestra Part II
After watching the Unknown Mortal Orchestra off-venue show on Friday, I internally told myself I would watch the off-venue feature gig at Harpa Norðurljós on Saturday so I could compare and contrast the two with a scrutinizing eye, like any good Doctor…
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“A Gallery Is Nothing More Than The Group Of Artists Represented There”
While art aficionados and those familiar with the Icelandic art scene may have their own ideas about work that is particularly “i8-like,” Börkur says the gallery’s aesthetic is difficult to define. “We have a diverse programme,” he says, although he admits that…
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Icelandic Art, If There Is Such A Thing
On the ground floor of a grey apartment building, across from Reykjavík’s old harbour, around the corner from the Reykjavík Art Museum, and a five minute walk from the heart of the city’s centre, sits a quiet gallery space which takes its…
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The Calm Warrior
Bouncing back and forth inside the octagon-shaped cage in Nottingham, England, Icelandic fighter Gunnar Nelson lands a kick to DaMarques Johnson’s head, evades a flurry of blows, and then pulls his opponent down to the canvas. Avoiding a shoulder lock, he then…
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THE EXPLORER
Högni Egilsson on singing, sailing and the making of Grapevine’s album of 2012, Hjaltalín’s ‘Enter IV’