XM3 – rum for samtidskunst presents an exhibition by the Icelandic artist Arngrímur Borgþórsson
I am anxious
“The sun darkens,
earth in ocean sinks,
fall from heaven the bright stars,
fire’s breath assails the all-nourishing tree,
towering fire plays against heaven itself.
Understand ye yet, or what?”
-From Völuspá (The prophecy of the Seeress), an Icelandic 10th century poem by an unknown author.
The poem describes Ragnarök, the end of the world. You are an immigrant in Malmö, you’re too fat, there’s a pandemic on and your
planet is melting!
What are you going to do about it? Learn Swedish! Get a passport! Lose weight!
Quarantine! Recycle your garbage! Make something that will outlast the coming apocalypse!
In “I am anxious”, Arngrímur Borgþórsson exhibits sculptures, video and installations born of anxiety.
In his work, he is influenced by ethereal objects and concepts which often exist only in theory, storytelling or on a screen and attempts to make them into more solid, permanent objects which exist in the real world. He is interested in the ethical, moral and practical implications of digital and social media and the questions which it provokes as we, as a species, explore and interact with it. The works themselves often take on the form of an installation, sometimes combined with simple performances or video.
Arngrímur is also keenly interested in storytelling using objects, hints or traces which result in sculptures, installations or video. Frequently, Arngrímur comes up with a formula or a recipe for the work, such as a series of actions and/or a form of documentation, and then follows it to it’s ultimate logical, illogical or even absurd conclusion.
Arngrímur was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. He lives and works in Malmö, Sweden.
He graduated from the Reykjavík Academy of the Arts in 2006 with a BA and from the Umeå Art Academy in 2013 with an MA. He runs the artist-run exhibition space “Gallery CC” in Malmö along with six other Malmö-based artists.
He frequently collaborates as one-half of the artist duo “Knaggi” with Norwegian artist Andreas Knag-Danielsen. He has exhibited at various venues in Sweden, Iceland, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Norway. This is his first exhibition in Aalborg.