“I am only chasing basic forms from different directions.”
In the exhibition PARABOLA, Finnbogi Pétursson makes visible the rhythm of Earth. The artist uses sound, but instead of resounding, it creates movement. The sound ripples the water like an invisible drop falling, creating waves that travel across the surface of the water. In a way that is particular to this planet.
“The waves cannot be significantly altered, in light of gravity and the effects of other planets here on Earth,” says Finnbogi.
The ripples travel to a beat. Sine waves pulsate across a specific part of the water which is framed in oblong pools. The light projects the motion of the water upwards, we see it in a material that we rarely think about, the air that surrounds us. The waves’ frequency is visual, we see them meet, they do not break but create new patterns, even stillness.
The artist uses water, air, light and sound as shapeable matter. He uses man’s knowledge of Earth’s physical laws to control difficult material. We know this beat; it lives within us. When we affect the world, we often do so according to this rhythm. Whether we push child on a swing, adjust airscrews, stir bathwater or swing just about anything.
“We try to live on the right wavelength, in our own rhythm. I watched my granddaughter learn how to swing, how she knew exactly when to put down her foot to maintain the motion. This comes so naturally to us. Maintaining movement is what we seek, to spend as little energy as possible in maintaining the flow.”
Finnbogi has a unique view of the world and its nature. For decades he has sought to give sound waves visual form. For this he has used water, light, electricity in all-encompassing installations. His work brings the viewer to reflect on their own perception, their being in space, nature and the universe.
Finnbogi Pétursson studied art at Iceland College of Fine Arts and Crafts between 1979 and 1983 and studied at the Jan van Eyck Akademie in Maastricht in the Netherlands from 1983 to 1985. Finnbogi held his first solo exhibition at Time Based Arts in Amsterdam in 1985 and has since held a number of solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions around the world. Finnbogi was the recipient of the Gerður Art Prize in 2022.
