Hrafnkell Sigurðsson

Using a wide range of media, including photographs, installation, and performance, Hrafnkell Sigurðsson creates works that explore the human relationship with nature. As the artist notes, retreating into nature provides him with a sense of balance, an experience he wants to share with his viewers: "I want to bring you there, to make you feel what I feel." His work has encompassed minimalist images of empty tents in snow, houses under construction, garbage bags in the streets, and portraits of trash (which also took the form of large-scale suspended sculptures.) In his 2006 Crew Series photographs, the artist captures the symbolic presence of the timeless Icelandic fisherman, portraying fragmented, magnified portraits of the fishermen's rubber suits in intensified color and texture. The fishermen's ritualistic labor is linked to the artist's recurring theme of transcending the body. Sigurðsson's work has been exhibited internationally, including shows at the National Gallery of Iceland, the Louvre, and the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels.