Untitled from Vivid Tents series (2000)Hallgerdur Hallgrimsdottir: I, like others, am very fond of your Vivid Tents pictures but feel its difficult to put in words what it is that makes them so mysterious and magnificent. What is the idea behind the series?
Hrafnkell Sigurdsson: I was traveling trough Fjallabaksleid in summertime a few years ago, where I was photographing landscapes. But it wasn't until I saw a yellow tent glowing in the black dessert that I felt I had found an interesting focus. I crept up to the tent, afraid I would disturb the travelers inside, not knowing if anyone was indeed there, and took one picture. After that a process began nothing could stop. I don't really know why myself, I simply thought it extremely interesting to pair different tents with different surroundings and conditions. This series also comes right after the snow piles, which were mountains of sorts within the village and the tents are like a village on a mountain. But the tent can also represent a body in the landscape, an abstract body which the viewer can identify with.
Untitled (Mountain 4) (1998)HH: You seem to comment on the man vs. nature or "nature and culture"
like someone put it. Why?
HS: This dualism has always appealed to me. Putting these together as separate phenomena produces a certain dynamic. Maybe I have more faith in that the dualism will dissolve and the two concepts merge together in the viewers mind, rather than showing the him how everything is intertwined into one whole. I also think these two concepts can work as a gate that
you can walk through. I don't impose my conclusion on you but invite you to enter and find your own.
HH: Transience also comes to mind; tents, snow piles and trash... Is that a correct interpretation?
HS: Yes, it must be because that's how life itself is.
HH: Why are you so drawn to the working class man, the fisherman?
HS: I was just wandering about this, because it was so unconscious. Masculine presence fascinates me and I can see how that comes from my childhood. But this is something you think about afterwards, after the work is done. Maybe it's because I come from a working class family? If my background was the world of the upper class, university education and diplomats I would be working with ties and suits? But in the end I think the reason is not that personal even though everything comes from somewhere. And if the work has these roots it they give it a certain purpose and power.
To me it's exciting to try to create a presence with these down to earth elements. A solid foundation is important if you want to build high.
Crew 1 (2006)HH: How is it in your experience to work as an artist with fishermen and other working class heroes?
HS: People never fail to be curious and helpful. I would probably never have photographed in the junkyard if one of the truck drivers wouldn't have offered me a ride there one cold winter morning while I was photographing the garbage collectors in town on a cold winter morning.
HH: Your work is usually very beautiful, a word that seems almost off limits when art is discussed these days (at least when it comes to photography). Is that something you aspire to or is it simply something you do instinctively?
HS: If it is then it is because I can't help it, and I have tried. It's a handicap if you will :) But maybe I find it interesting because it's a little naughty.
HH: What are you working on now? Has the recession inspired you in any way?
HS: I am preparing a few projects for next year, in Russia, Britain and France. I think the recession has influenced me indirectly. I want to rethink a few things, which is very exciting, I'm exploring unknown territory ;)
HH: How does it feel to hear or read what other people have to say about your art?
HS: It's always a treat. And remarkably there is seldom any misunderstanding.
HH: What do you think about Icelandic landscape photography?
HS: It's like the landscape is not enough, as incredibly beautiful as it is. A lot of ambitious and well made photographs leave nothing behind.
HH: Do you have any good advice?
HS: Be curious, passionate and work hard.
More info an pics on:
http://www.hrafnkellsigurdsson.com
HS: People never fail to be curious and helpful. I would probably never have photographed in the junkyard if one of the truck drivers wouldn't have offered me a ride there one cold winter morning while I was photographing the garbage collectors in town on a cold winter morning.
HH: Your work is usually very beautiful, a word that seems almost off limits when art is discussed these days (at least when it comes to photography). Is that something you aspire to or is it simply something you do instinctively?
HS: If it is then it is because I can't help it, and I have tried. It's a handicap if you will :) But maybe I find it interesting because it's a little naughty.
HH: What are you working on now? Has the recession inspired you in any way?
HS: I am preparing a few projects for next year, in Russia, Britain and France. I think the recession has influenced me indirectly. I want to rethink a few things, which is very exciting, I'm exploring unknown territory ;)
HH: How does it feel to hear or read what other people have to say about your art?
HS: It's always a treat. And remarkably there is seldom any misunderstanding.
HH: What do you think about Icelandic landscape photography?
HS: It's like the landscape is not enough, as incredibly beautiful as it is. A lot of ambitious and well made photographs leave nothing behind.
HH: Do you have any good advice?
HS: Be curious, passionate and work hard.
More info an pics on:
http://www.hrafnkellsigurdsson.com
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