D22 Björk Viggósdóttir - Kite

In her work, Björk Viggósdóttir uses various elements to engage the finest sensitivity of the senses to appeal to viewers’ imaginations. Here, gentle forms floating in the air, with a composition of bright colours – are to become an assembly entitled Kites that surge through the gallery space. The silk kites, aerodynamic in forms, are held in their places, still, but waiting for the next current to launch themselves into flights.

Björk’s work often carries a lyrical quality and her use of symbols is purposeful. Her fascination with the symbolic meanings kites inherit are derived from their long history, and the numerous roles kites took on through the centuries – such as to deliver messages, for festive celebrations, in sports, and even in scientific researches, to name a few. The efficacy of a flying kite lies on the strength and consistency of the wind that propels it into the atmosphere. Though a flying kite soars freely in the open air, it is still fastened to a string; the bounded kite becomes a symbol of an eternal conflict between freedom and control. These two polar concepts are in a constant debate and cannot be without one or the other. The polarity is a recurring theme in Björk’s installation with the video projections of martial art matches (Movements) showing sportsmen bowing to rules and regulations of the art. For those who are not familiar with martial arts might only see two sportsmen grappling senselessly like they are attempting to define and overpower the space. Rules map out a framework in a way similar to that of a string controlling the navigation of a kite. A thought takes flight and as moments of void take over consciousness, the mind only wakes up again when the attached string is being yanked at. This much says the same about us referring back to standards that were set down to define ourselves.

Björk often assembles multiple and diverse media that become an installation with an uncanny aspect where imaginations are given free rein. During the exhibition period, Björk refreshes her installation with staged live performances when performers interact with the components and thus changing the environment, giving the installation an altered appearance.

Björk Viggósdóttir (b. 1982) lives and works in Reykjavík. She has participated in group exhibitions here in Iceland and overseas. Björk has been involved in numerous projects since 2006 after she graduated from Iceland Academy of the Arts. Some of the selected projects are the dance piece Fresh Meat that she collaborated with dancer Sigríður Soffía Níelsdóttir, shown in London and Iceland (2009); sound installation Soundscape at MMX gallery in Berlin (2010). In 2009, she has also exhibited her video work at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York and took part in the Reykjavík Art Festival. One of her video works was featured as part of the backdrop in the staging of Greek tragedy The Bacchae at the National Theatre of Iceland in 2006.