Myrkar myndir/Paintworks

I had an exhibition in East-Icelandic culture centre.

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Paintworks

When, as a child, we had a wall or a toy car to paint, I was always told never to mix oil based and water based paints. Obeying accumulated temptation. When I grew up I just had to make that forbitten mixture.

Last spring I was pondering, why do I make art. Do I even have an effect on my doings? My questioning led to these paintings. First I painted dots with oil-based enamel paint on the canvas. Then, with a broad brush I painted over all the canvas a dark layer with water-based acrylic. This was the task I gave to them: Picture a starry sky!

As these paints repel each other, soon bright stars began to break through the dark-painted sky. Works of art started to carry out the given task and create wanted picture. "Can I influence my doings?" they could have asked while creating happened to them. Even though they acted independently and reached an unique result, they didn't have an effect on the course of events - what a delicious disagreement!

I refined this method from the paintmixture forbidden in my childhood. Without prohibitions this might have never happened. Were those prohibitions in fact a lure, which I followed without my own will power?

I call these paintings paintworks.


Myrkar myndir

Þegar við sem börn máluðum á veggi eða leikfangabíla vorum við alltaf minnt á að blanda ekki saman vatns- og olíulitum. Vegna bannsins varð þetta spennandi og þegar ég varð fullorðinn varð ég að prófa þessa bönnuðu blöndu.

Síðasta vor fór ég að velta því fyrir mér af hverju ég væri listamaður. Hef ég einhver áhrif á verk mín? Spurningar mínar leiddu til þessa verkefnis. Ég tók fram léreft og byrjaði að mála punkta með ljósri olíumálningu. Síðan málaði ég dökkan vatnslit með breiðum pensli yfir alla punktana. Með þessum hætti gaf ég verkinu verkefni: ,,Myndaðu stjörnubjartan himin.“

Blautir vatnslitirnir aðskildust og brátt fóru bjartar stjörnur að birtast í gegnum dökkan himininn. Listaverkið framkvæmdi verkið sjálft og myndaði umbeðna ósk. Litirnir hefðu getað spurt spurningarinnar: ,,Hef ég einhver áhrif á gjörðir mínar?” á meðan myndunin gekk yfir þá. Jafnvel þótt þeir starfi sjálfstætt og útkoman sé einstök höfðu þeir engin áhrif á gang mála – ó hve dásamleg mótsögn.

Ég þróaði þessa aðferð úr hinni forboðnu málningarblöndu æsku minnar. Án bannsins getur verið að verkin hefðu aldrei orðið til. Var bannið ef til vill tálbeita sem ég fylgdi viljalaus. Ég nefni þessi verk málverk.

Þýtt úr finnsku: Silja Johnsdóttir

detail of a paintwork

Identical twins, who have been separated as babies, have been investigated. Investigations show, that they have done surprisingly similar decisions in their lives.
This is either caused by same genotype, or they have had unconscious connection with each other. I think same genes are more credible cause.
Then, how much we others are commanded by hereditary factors? (We also could have an identical sibling somewhere, who is making similar decisions as we.)

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