Art Life:
Álfheiður
Ólafsdóttir
"My Mountain"
Álfheiður Ólafsdóttir held an
exhibition in Grindavík from 29.
January until 23. February 2005. The name of the
exhibition was "My Mountain".
In August 2004 I went along
with my daughter, María Rún and my niece Dagný. We headed
east to the country side.
An unusual heat wave made
camping great. We found a spot for our tent where Mt.
Þríhyrningur was clearly visible, dignified but ever so
loyal. We slept in the tent for four nights. Girls
discovered some things to do but I painted pictures of the
mountain I call "My Mountain".
Evenings were perfect for fun ghost
trips to deserted farm houses in darkness. The high temperature
often makes ground fog creep in over the flat land. An Icelandic
proverb says "Much hides in the fog".
We camped at what once was the river
bed of Markarfljót river. Sometimes the ground fog was thick enough
to make crawling into the tent and go to sleep a little bit ghostly.
This picture was painted
before noon on a beautiful morning. Ground fog was creeping
everywhere until 9:00 am. I often looked out and just
crawled back in. I thought to myself: "I can't paint
today, because I can't see anything". But the all of a
sudden the fog moves further and further away from the
mountain and the mountain is literally born out of the fog.
I was completely fascinated and tried to capture the spirit
of the moment.
We observed the mountain from
various viewpoints. It changed steadily according to our
position. Here you can see how the mountain looks from the
hill by Stöðlakot, south-west of Þríhyringur.
Here the mist makes viewing
the mountains rather difficult. This picture is shot
south-east of the mountain.
This point of view is east of
Þríhyrningur.
I found out that "My
Mountain" is unbelievably complicated. I tried to
capture the mountain in three dimensions. Had pictures as
support as well as a map with altitude lines. I am certain
that the three-dimensional sculpture is not accurate but
this is what I FEEL it is like.
This painting is done based
on feelings and thoughts towards the mountain. I think it is
like a "fairy tale".
"It is mystical"
This summer I intend to hike up
the mountain and look at it from above. That way the
exhibition is only the beginning of the research on the
mountain and its multible faces. This will be a continuous
project over the next years.
All paintings from the exhibition
are at my home page:
www.art-iceland.com/alfheidur
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