Morphing

´Morphing´

10 year anniversary show of video festival 700IS Reindeerland

The Nordic House, Reykjavík

Opens on 22nd of January at 4pm

22nd January – 15th February 2015

Artists:

Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir (IS), Haraldur Karlsson (IS/NO), Hrafnkell Sigurðsson (IS) Jóhan Martin Christiansen (FO), Amalie Smith (DK), Maj Hasager (DK), Jóna Hlíf Halldórsdóttir (IS), Kristín Scheving (IS), Magnús Helgason (IS), Marie Thams (DK), Margarida Paiva (NO/PT), Sara Björnsdóttir (IS), Sigga Björg Sigurðardóttir (IS)
Screenings and performances in the Conference hall and in other areas of The Nordic House only on the opening day:
Anders Elsrud Hultgreen (NO), Kaia Hugin (NO), Ulf Kristiansen (NO), Espen Tversland (NO), Ottar Ormstad (NO), Albert Merino (SP), Fabio Scacchioli – Vicenzo Core (IT)
Mihai Grecu (RO/FR), Iury Lech (SP), Liu Yanhu (CH), Susann Maria Hempel (DE), Rebekkah Lelia Palov (USA), Seo Jung Lee (South Korea / France), Michael Bielicky (DE), Kamila B. Richter (DE), Lukas Rehm (DE), Lena Zwerina (DE), Jan Cordes (DE)

Guest curators:
Marie Thams, Iury Lech and Margarida Paiva.

The artists I have selected to work with for the 10 year anniversary of video festival 700IS Reindeerland are artists I have worked with during the period on different occasions and I am very pleased that they all agreed to work with me and the festival once more, especially as the benefits for the participants have not been financial but more rewarding as being part of the video festival as a 10 year experiment. In autumn 2015 a publication will be launched, which will give an overview of the annual festival and its related practice.

Grateful for the 10 years of 700IS Reindeerland it is time to say goodbye with a final exhibition and festival in The Nordic House in Reykjavík. With 10 festivals of experimental art, film and video, many international screenings, collaboration with various institutions, amazing artists from every corner of the globe and lots of fun moments, it is time for the energy source(s) of the festival to move on and ´morph´ into something else.

Most visual artists like to experiment with different medium. With experimentation as a key word, 700IS Reindeerland has from the beginning aimed at giving artists a platform to explore, experiment and expand their practice. This has often been possible because of the location of the festival, situated in rural East Iceland, most often using an old Slaughterhouse that has been turned into a culture center, as a venue. The venue gave participating artists, and others involved, freedom to experiment with interesting spaces, that had thus far been limited by financial means and often bad weather, as the festival has been held annually in the winter months. The artistic freedom the participating artists have experienced has been great, especially for those who have come for longer residency periods, Facilities, exhibition venues, accommodation and visiting places have been very rewarding to them and they have in return given the local community and people involved fruitful experiences.

Now, when I look back and reflect on the 10 year period of Reindeerland it is a pleasure for me to think of how many exhibitions we made, catalogues, postcards, posters, installations, films, videos and experimental art works have been shown at the festival. Apart from hosting/operating an annual festival in rural East Iceland the festival has also been ever changing from year to year. I have also expanded it to different locations in the world, such as Hong Kong, USA, Germany, Spain, Sweden Norway etc., the festival has been invited to other festivals as a guest programmer and in that way it has worked as a platform for Icelandic artists. 700IS Reindeerland has also been part of international collaboration, Nordic collaboration and the EU project Alternative Routes from 2008 – 2010.

Over 500 artworks have been shown at 700IS Reindeerland, in East Iceland, in Reykjavík and internationally. To mark the 10 year anniversary and the final festival, I have chosen to work with the still image as a theme, the photograph, video still, mixed media etc. The goodbye show of the last festival closes its circle with a thankful heart to all the people who have collaborated, given their time and allowed us to show their artwork. This is a celebration of the process of an art work, morphing from a moving image to a still image, onwards to an installation and so on, often ongoing for years.

Thanks one more time to all the artists, curators, collaborators, institutions, festivals and sponsors.

All good things must come to an end…

Kristín Scheving, founder and curator of 700IS Reindeerland.

Program

The exhibition ´Morphing´ is open from 22nd of January through 15th of February 2015.

16:00 A selection of Norwegian video art presented by curator Margarida Paiva. Conference room.
17:00 Exhibition opened by: director of The Nordic House Mr. Mikkel Harder Munch-Hansen – Exhibition takes place in the exhibition space and in various spaces in the NH.
17:05 Marie Thams artist and curator talks about her selection for the exhibition.
17:15 A selection of video art from Madatac festival in Madrid, presented by its artistic director and curator Iury Lech. Conference room.
18:15 Performance by Lukas Rehm LYBES DIMEM Conference room.
16:00 – 19:00 Performance by Lena Zwerina : en.gramma in the Alvar Aalto room in the foyer of the Nordic house.