the BallPark goes to Iceland

back in Oz

bless bless Ísland

blue lagoon orgasmia

keflavik

the final kilometres as we catch the few hours of daylight

i get a quad bike for xmas!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you Oliver!!!!!!!

last last last

one last chance to lie on my bed and take pictures of me in my beanie and ‘fluffly’ coat. Don´t want to leave.

a bed angel

looking forward, looking back

When everything is moved out of the room, i remember back to when i arrived. and how i felt. and how excited i was. and how i feel now that i am leaving. and how much i will miss Skagastrond…..but especially how much i will miss the people who have become friends.

last snow

some last bless bless

thanks to signý for the pic

One of the bittersweet moments for me was saying goodbye to my new friends. As i went around to each house with an artwork  present, i got to sample iceland hospitality at its sugary best. I ate cake after cake after biscuit after beer, and don´t forget coffe. And it was WONDERFUL!!!! I gave my hat to Signý, and darling Laufey Lind looks so cute in it. They are minding it for me so that i WILL COME BACK!!  Thanks you to everyone who met my stay so wonderful.

one last adventure

sheeps and horses

thanks to Runar and Asta for letting us visit

oliver simonson is the newest viking on the block

grettislaug

the genius of oliver

boots in the window

the cowboy

Hallbjörn Hjartarson is the King of the Icelandic Country Music. He runs Kantrybær and a radio station upstairs from the restaurant. There is also a really cool collection of stuff from his career.

He was made famous in Kúrekar norðursins, a documentary by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.

In the summer of 1984, Iceland’s king of country music, Hallbjörn Hjartarson, arranged the first and only Icelandic cowboy-festival. This celebration of western culture took place in Skagaströnd, a village of 700 inhabitants in the north of Iceland, and was attended by Iceland’s leading country singers. This documentary describes, in an objective fashion, the general atmosphere of the festival and gives a portrait of the star of the show, Hallbjörn Hjartarson and his views on life and stardom

fleur and the cowboy

I have been in Skagastrond for 2 and 1/2 months and my dream has been to meet  “the cowboy”. I have played at the Kantrybær and run a pubquiz and met some fishermen and got drunk and eaten and spoken to many people. But I have 1 week left and I had still not met him. But today it happened!!!! I was soooooooooo nervous i was shaking and couldn’t eat and smoked cigarettes.

and HE was charming.

sunrise. midday. 1 week 2 go

the little house glowed

jolin koma

the the candles on the xmas tree, it´s time for a story

i´ve been a bad bad girl

more pub quiz

time goes so fast when you´re having fun

team O..Oliver and Ólafía

tres chic

the pub quiz went well

lost a little in google translation..

Ástrali asked to drink more

Di Ball is artist in Nes listamiðstöð and she will ask, judge and alvaldur drink better Kántrýbær tonight, Friday 11th December kl. 21:30.

Many Skagstrendingar know Di. She is extremely hress and joy. Thought stórmerkilegt to see snow, northern lights and not less Peninsula Trend Inga.

She intends to ask the other and this. Course be some questions about Australia, she also intends to ask the Skagaströnd and generally about life and existence.

Ólafía Lárusdóttir will translate the questions so no going past participants.

The quiz will lokinn Di might take the song but she is smart acute Kántrý singer and was in bands here formerly in their home countries.

i meet the Paul McCartney of Iceland

In recent years Gunnar has turned more and more to the classical stream and the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra has performed some of his compositions.

Gunnar has composed over 400 songs which have been recorded, besides composing music for films and musicals, overseeing recording sessions and arranging music for countless records.

food glorious food and singing and presents

the artists cook up a storm for the town folk.

we were just testing our videos for open house

the sound of one eye blinking

Di Ball is in her bed in residence in Iceland performing a new work entitled “the sound of one eye blinking” as a result of getting something in her eye. Hopes it will be a short performance as the audience vis a vis the lightbulb needs to go out.

we have a new artist

Elizabeth from USA arrived late a few nights ago but is already out and about and has cooked a great pasta dish. She will fit in just fine to this now tiny team.

Oliver is still chopping and preparing and generally keeping an eye on us.

Dreamland: a self-help manual for a frightened nation

I have just finished reading Dreamland by Andri Snær Magnason. It is a book of facts and figures, but still compelling reading, made all the more intrresting as it was written before the GFC. Bjork wrote the forward and describes the book as a “possible solution (…) to a universal problem”.

The book has been made into a documentary film this year.

home away from home

Our house is called Röðulfell and it means moon and little mountain. I didn´t know this when i took this picture

a fine day and a time to sit and remember those passed

the northern lights put on a real show

photos will come

sewing in skagastrond

catching the xmas spirit with the help of santa snow

the weather turns beautiful again

i have a cooking lesson

puðursykur marens effir Signý

I went over to Signy´s place and she and I baked this fabulousnessness. In english it is brown sugar meringue and it is drizzled with a caramel peanuty wonder. I am not posting the recipe online, but I am going to promise to make it when i get back to Oz. Poor Signý had to pick me up in the blizzard and i had to stay for a wonderful dinner and a few beers and wait for the wind to die down so the cake wouldn´t fly off the plate. But i was given a rather wonderful large container and the cake made the journey home safely. Thank you Ingibergur

Ólafía buys me santa snow and then this happens

I have been complaining and complaining that I want some spray on snow for the windows….santa snow. When we went to the big city, Blonduos, we looked everywhere but no santa snow. And then Ólafía found some and bought me some and then the next morning there was a blizzard and you couldn’t see the window for snow.

bywe bling up

the town has started to really sparkle with xmas lights, and so we felt we couldn’t let the town down. So here is our Mr Blobby.

a shoe in the window

A special Icelandic custom is to put a shoe in the window during the Christmas season. Beginning on December 12th and lasting until Christmas, children put their best shoe in the window before going to sleep and if they have been good, a jólasveinn (or yule lad) leaves them a gift in their shoe. If they have been bad, they only get a potato.

Ólafía has her childhood boot.

I have a show dilemma: style over substance The bling of my op shop red carpet shoes from Copenhagen, or tye more sensible and larger (for gifts) welly boot. mmmmmmmm what to do????

style?

substance?

a truly fabulous traditional icelandic meal

get ready for the yule lads

The Yule lads are said to “come to town” during the last 13 nights before Christmas, each staying for two weeks before departing. Below are the ‘official’ thirteen Yule Lads in the order they arrive (and depart).

i took Ólafìa’s car for a spin

We needed supplies from the Blonduos Vinobud, so we borrowed Ólafía’s car and headed off. The weather web said blown snow, which was true. But there was an awful lot of it and I couldn’t see the car in front of my face. And then when we got to Blonduos it was deep snow. And I was driving a manual and on the other side of the road and we made it home safe!!!!!!!!! with casks of wine, some gin, vodka and apple xmas  schnapps.

window bling

Christmas in the cold climes is very beautiful becasue they take advantage of the short hours of light,  and the long dark,  and so do spectacular window bling and house bling.

facts about icelandish pillow cases

correct me if i am wrong, but the idea of a pillow case is to hold the pillow in. to encase the pillow in cotton or satin or pattern or print or plain or whatever your pleasure may be. i assumed pillow cases were the same all over the world;  rectangles sewed on 3 sides with the short side open with a little flap to tuck the pillow in. the short side is the open one so the pillow doesn’t break loose. doesn’t escape . this is extremely important with the second “to hug”pillow.

icelandish pillowcases open the long side. the pillow escapes. the huggy pillow breaks free and is bare. i can’t keep the pillowcase on the pillow. i’ve tucked and tucked but with the long side open i am losing the battle.

who knew??

a great end to a lovely night

lambakóróna höfðingjans med piparsosu

Possibly the best lamb cutlets i have ever had followed by a walk on the wild side of the street.

eventually the santas have to leave

Xmas arrives in Skagaströnd

the tre is up, and all the cars from the folk park around the area with their lights on. People arrive with their kids, the mayor gives a speech, and then……………………

please excuse the bad edit but the wind and snow and darkness and ….

all in all, a great night

multi musica

Multi Musica eru: 
Ásdís Guðmundsdóttir, söngur og ásláttur
Sorin Lazar, gítar 
Jóhann Friðriksson, trommur
Rögnvaldur Valbergsson, hljómborð,gítar og harmonikka
Sigurður Björnsson, bassi
Sveinn Sigurbjörnsson, bongó og trompet
Íris Baldvinsdóttir, bakraddir og ásláttur
Jóhanna Marín Óskarsdóttir, bakraddir, strengir og ásláttur
Ólöf Ólafsdóttir, bakraddir og ásláttur
Þórunn Rögnvaldsdóttir, bakraddir og ásláttur

multi musica at Kantrybær

Last night was a real thrill for me as there was a band from Sauðárkrókur called Multi Musica playing at Kantrybær. As I have sung in the Combined Union Choir (song for freedom for the workers), an african choir, and BEMAC (Brisbane Ethnic Music Choir), to hear some world music was a joy to my ears.

and the crowd loved it as well.

they couldn't even stay still

a local point of view

As an artist, I see no difference in writing a novel or painting a picture. I approach evrything with the same attitude: to embody an idea in an attempt to understand it; to visualise or exprience in a concrete way how I feel about it. As I transport my body or soul into a given medium, the idea stops being inside me and is transported into the work of art.

Sigurdur Gudmundsson

beautiful beautiful skagastrond

did we or didn´t we?

i am growing facial hair

an australian connection

jorgen jorgensen

Icelanders refer to Jørgensen as Jörundur hundadagakonungur (“Jørgen the dog-days King” in Icelandic, a reference to the time when the dog star is in the sky).

For some interesting news about his portrait, go to http://epaper.visir.is/media/200911260000/pdf_online/1_38.pdf

Jørgen Jørgensen (29 March 1780, Copenhagen, Denmark – 20 January 1841, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) was a Danish adventurer during the Age of Revolution. He sailed to Iceland in 1809 and declared the country independent from Denmark and proclaimed himself ‘Protector’ promising that he would reinstate the Althing as soon as the Icelandic people were able to govern themselves. His intent was to establish a liberal society in the spirit of those emerging in The Americas and Europe at the time. He was also a prolific writer of letters, papers, pamphlets and newspaper articles covering a wide variety of subjects, and was an associate of the famous botanists Joseph Banks and William Jackson Hooker for a period.

 At the age of 15, Jørgensen served as an apprentice to Captain Henry Marwood of the British collier ship Janeon. In 1799 he sailed to Cape Town and from there on to Port Jackson in 1800, the new British colony in Australia. In 1801 he joined the crew of the Lady Nelson. As a member of that crew, Jørgensen was present at the establishment of the first Tasmanian settlements of Risdon Cove and Sullivan’s Cove.

In 1807, while Jørgensen was visiting his family, he witnessed the Battle of Copenhagen and soon afterwards was given command of a small Danish vessel, the Admiral Juul. In 1808, following a sea battle with a British naval vessel, he was captured by the British as a privateer. In 1809, while on parole, he suggested to a merchant that a voyage to Iceland could be profitable as the island was suffering from food shortages at the time, due to the Danish monopoly on Icelandic trade. Jørgensen accompanied the voyage of the Clarence as an interpreter. That voyage failed to trade any goods as the ship was British and by that time Denmark and Britain were at war. Soon after, Jørgensen sailed on a second voyage. On arrival in Iceland they found the Danish Governor would still not permit trading. With the help of other crew members, Jørgensen managed to arrest the governor and proclaimed himself ruler. With the arrival of HMS Talbot, Danish government was restored two months later and Jørgensen was taken back to England and tried by the Transport Board who found him guilty of breaking his parole while a prisoner-of-war. He was released in 1811.

Jørgensen spent the next few years in London where he began to drink heavily and gamble compulsively, building up substantial debts which eventually led to his conviction and incarceration. When released from prison in 1812, he travelled to Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar and upon his return to England, was again imprisoned when his creditors caught up with him. Following correspondence with the British Foreign Office, Jørgensen was recruited into the intelligence service where he translated documents and travelled throughout France and Germany as a spy as the Napoleonic Wars drew to a close. Upon returning to England, Jørgensen continued to write various reports, papers and articles but after being accused of theft in 1820, was imprisoned in Newgate Prison, released, and sent back there when he failed to leave Britain (a condition of his parole). A sentence of death was commuted thanks to the actions of a prominent friend and he spent another 3 years in Newgate before he was transported to Australia in 1825.

After five months at sea, Jørgensen arrived back in Tasmania in 1826, was granted a ticket of leave in 1827, led several explorations of Tasmania, and was employed by the Van Dieman’s Land Council as a Constable, taking part in the ‘Black Line’ aboriginal clearance exercise. He married an Irish convict, Norah Corbett, in 1831 and died in the Colonial Hospital on 20 January 1841.

the town gets ready

beware of icebergs

A giant iceberg was seen off Macquarie Island halfway between Antarctica and Australia last week
Published: 7:00AM GMT 20 Nov 2009

i give a talk

I was asked by Olafur, the school teacher, to give a talk to his class of 15 year olds so they could hear an Australian accent. I spoke a little about my artwork and also about Australia in general. I finished with a clip of the chooky dancers, a group of indigenous dancers who became a big hit when their youtube video of their performance went viral.

Aboriginal interpretation of Zorba the Greek.
Frank Djirrimbilpilwuy from Milingimbi has been in the Indigenous Media Industry for many years and has been a long-standing member and supporter of the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association, TEABBA Radio. He has worked Independently in Music and Film for many years also.
As the man behind the camera and release of the video, Frank is also representing the dance group who call themselves “The Chooky Dancers”. Frank has said that he filmed the footage at this years Ramingining Festival on the 30th September 2007 and knew it would be “something special” as soon as he saw the boys rehearsing. “The crowd went wild as you can see in the video, and the classic song Zorba the Greek has now become a hit overnight in the communities and now it seems, everywhere else too” Frank said.

The Chooky Dancers are a group of 10 energetic young men who had healthy living in mind when they choreographed the performance. Franks son Lionel is the lead dancer in the video footage at front and center. “They (the Chooky Dancers) begun working on this just after this years Garma Festival in Gukula and worked very hard on it, they also do a Bollywood style performance which is also fantastic” Frank said.

Opið hús í Nesi Listamiðstöð went well

Thanks to Olafía for the pics.

Back to Skagastrond

Olafia looking fab in her new blond hair

of course it snowed while i was away.

just when it was getting interesting, I find Grettir has a small penis.

Grettir swam into the fjord with the current behind him and it was completely calm. He swam vigourously and reached Reykjanes when the sun had set, then went up to the farm at Reykir and bathed in the hot pool there, because he was quite cold. After a long bask in the pool that night. he went into the main room. It was very hot there, since the fire had been alight that evening and the room had hardly cooled down. He was very weary, fell fast asleep and lay there into the day.
In the morning, the people on the farm got up and two women were the first to enter the main room, a servant-woman and the farmer´s daughter. Grettir was asleep and his clothes had slipped off on to the floor. They saw a man lying there whom they recognised.
Then the servant-woman said “Upon my word, sister, Grettir Asmundarson is here, lying naked. He looks big-framed to me all right, but I’m astonished to see how poorly endowed he is between his legs. It’s not in proportion to the rest of him.”
(…)
Then she went over to take a peek and ran back to the farmer’s daughter every so often, roaring with laughter.
Grettir heard what she said. And when she ran across the floor once more he grabbed her and spoke a verse:

61.
That wench takes things too lightly:
Few invokers of spear- storms
have much choice about the sword
that adorns their forest of hair.
I bet I have twice the balls
that other spear-thrusters boast
even if their shafts
can outstretch mine.

you gotta love a tour guide who cares

Gulli from Elding Tours drove the boat, guided us in the dark, explained our questions and then made us hot chocolate. Takk fyrir Gulli .

about the project

the wish tree

imagine peace

sooooooooo relaxed

the blue lagoon steams it up

a new day

food, glorious food at Hornið

Sjávarréttaþanna

more 101

a protest

As the world knows y now, Iceland suffered very badly in the great collapse of recent times, and this protest was expressing concern over ICESAVE, an ititiative whereby the IMF lends squillions to Iceland, but the people are worried that they will lose their independence……….again. I think I have got a complex situation down to a nutshell.

a flea market

It´s funny how other people´s junk looks like really cool stuff to you wherever you go in the world. Luckily, I an constantly having nightmares about my 20kg limit between Reykjavik and London.
this is the famous Kolaportiö in the downtown area.

The bookseller was the usual serious booky type.

It took all my willpower to leave this litle cutey behind.

art museum art

Yoshitomo Nara

World-renowned artist Yoshitomo Nara has created a new installation for the Reykjavík Art Museum in collaboration with Hideki Toyoshima, one of the founders of the design collaborative graf. The room-sized installation, consisting of shipping crates and billboards, places Nara’s iconic images in a new and unexpected context.
Within the shipping crates, visitors will find paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Nara himself. Nara is often associated with the contemporary Japanese Pop art movement, which is known as “Superflat.”

Ryan Parteka

 In D14, Ryan Parteka intends to capture the metaphysical dimension characteristic of the German landscape painter Casper David Friedrich’s (1774-1840). 

Egill Sæbjörnsson

The narrative side of Egill Sæbjörnsson’s work comes to the fore in this exhibition at Hafnarhús. On display are works dating from 2005, featuring dialogue between characters or objects that convey unfolding events or time. Places and objects harbor a certain life that emerges in human proximity, within and beyond gallery walls. Through prior knowledge, each person bestows meaning on what crosses his or her path. Egill Sæbjörnsson was nominated for the 2010 Carnegie Art Award and did recently release his second music CD.

Erro

The year 2009 will be dedicated to the Erró Collection, an invaluable gift presented to Reykjavik City in 1989 by the artist himself. Hafnarhús will host special exhibitions and various happenings over the year. The exhibition Erró – Portrett presents his portraits or characters descriptions of well known individuals in the fields of science, politic, literature and arts. A part of the works will be on permanent show while others changes regularly with a emphasis on special themes such as Monsters (May 28 – August 30), Japanese Love letters (Sept. 3 – Dec. 31

Reykjavik art museum

Hafnarhus or The Harbour House, is housed in the former Warehouses of the Port of Reykjavík located in downtown area, and serves as the Reykjavik Art Museum’s institute of contemporary art. New developments in art are explored through diverse exhibitions of Icelandic and international artists.
It was designed by Studio Granda, a prac­tice of architects based in Reykjavík, Iceland and founded in 1987 by wife and hus­band team Mar­grét Hardard­ót­tir (1959, Reyk­javík, Ice­land) and Steve Chris­ter (1960, Black­fyne, UK). The building opened in 2000.

a lovely drive back accompanied by readings from the vikings.

a convoy of dentists

how are we gonna see Seljalandsfoss in the dark??

lights of course. really big spotties.

goody, more shadows

inside

outside

music in the church

The altarpiece, which hung in Holt Church and then in Ásólfsskáli Church, dates from 1768. It is a triptych depicting the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Crucifixes, candelabra, chandeliers etc. have also been acquired from various old churches. The chandelier in the nave is probably of 16th-century date, of Flemish or Dutch make. The carved baptismal font is a replica of a font dating from about 1600, while the brass baptismal bowl dates from around 1600; it is on loan from the National Museum of Iceland.

Skógasafn

The museum was founded in 1949 on the initiative of Þórður Tómasson. He was born in 1921 at Vallnatún under the Vestur-Eyjafjöll mountains in south Iceland, where he grew up with his parents, Tómas Þórðarson and Kristín Magnúsdóttir, and siblings.
At an early age Þórður developed an interest in Icelandic culture and its conservation. He completed lower secondary studies from Reykjavík High School.
Together with his work at the museum, Þórður has published many books on aspects of Icelandic folk culture.
In 1997 Þórður’s contribution to cultural history was recognised when he was awarded an honorary doctorate of the University of Iceland.

Þórður Tómasson unlocked the houses for us

It is a truly amazing collection, and we were priviledged to have the creator play the organ for us and open buildings.  He seemed a fairly grumpy man, but probably becasue we were popping in and ot of somewhere you could spend a whole day. see http://www.skogasafn.is/enska/eupplysingar.asp

lunch at Vik

marinerað lamb m steiku grænmeti batum og hvítlaukssmjöri

off to Vík í Mýrdal

black Beach Ball

 A remarkable  feature near Vik  is the beautiful black beach with the Reynisdrangar, black basalt columns sculpted by the sea. A folk tale says that they are former trolls which were caught outside at dawn. The sea around them is rather wild and stormy, so travelers will not be surprised to discover a monument to the memory of drowned seamen on the beach. In 1991, the American journal Islands Magazine counted this beach as one of the ten most beautiful beaches on Earth. The village is the wettest place in Iceland.

as luck would have it

I got a german tour with a singing tour guide.

walking on thin ice can be difficult at the best of times

glacial gorgeousness

and then on to Mýrdalsökull glacier

featuring the tour guide´s finger

The ice-cap of the glacier covers an active volcano called Katla. The crater of the volcano has a diameter of 10 km and the volcano erupts normally every 40 – 80 years. As the last eruption took place in 1918, scientists are monitoring the volcano very carefully. Since 930, 16 eruptions have been documented. The Laki craters and the Eldgjá being part of the same volcanic system, it can be regarded as one of the most powerful in the world.

first stop…..Skogafoss

We pass through some stunning scenery

a new day dawns, but not yet

8.30 am

I am standing outside a hotel waiting to be picked up for my tour and it is pitch black and the xmas ligts are on and it is 8.30 am in the morning. Wierd. The sun only started rising as we were well and truly on our southern adventure.

off to the big smoke

When we piled in the car at about 4.00pm, it was sooooooooooooo windy I was afraid of blowing away attached to me little bag. The sun was going down, and after a lovely few hours drive with stops for hot dogs and coffee, arrived in Reykjavik and found both Elizabeth´s spinning class and the SIM guesthouse/apartment. It is RIGHT IN THE HEART OF 101 and it is just me and Christian, a physical theatre director here form somewhere else to direct the Icelandic Ballet in an experimental work. But he is flying to Akuyeri to see his family on the weekend, so I have the place to myself. Noice.