The new iteration of Lúppa consists of the works Joan I, II, III (2012) by Ragnheiður Gestsdóttir and Falls Through (2023) by Emma Heiðarsdóttir. Both videos are filmed in one-take and are short, surreal, bodily scenes that subvert our perception of reality.
Joan I, II, III (2012) is a series of three video works by Ragnheiður Gestsdóttir (b. 1975), created while she was living in New York. The works emerged from a set of methods Ragnheiður developed to overcome a creative block she experienced after becoming a new mother. By establishing a few simple rules, she created a narrow and manageable framework, working with her own fears, particularly the dilemma she experienced as an artist navigating the role of motherhood. One rule was that each work had to be filmed in a single take on a single roll of 16 mm film, without editing or cutting the film. Another was to work with an older, unfamiliar, and more life-experienced actress, highlighting a member of a group that is often marginalized in the film industry. Ragnheiður found the actress Joan Barber through the website Craigslist, whichis the sole performer appearing in the series. Ragnheiður Gestsdóttir is a multidisciplinary artist heavily influenced by her background in visual anthropology. More specifically, she critically explores the human desire for uniformity and absolute truths and their inherent failure.
Emma Heiðarsdóttir (b. 1990) employs intuition as a tool for exploring her surroundings, and her works often challenge conventional perceptions of the environment and our positioning within it. The idea for Falls Through (2023) arrived almost fully formed in the artist’s mind and remains completely unedited. The work presents a dreamlike and surreal continuum in which small stones are thrown into a stream through a hole in a foot. The hole evokes both curiosity and unease, yet the relaxed position of the foot by the stream, the rhythm of the throwing gesture, and the sound of the flowing water suggest a moment of quiet comfort and repose. Emma works across a variety of media and approaches her artworks as site-specific interventions in space. In her creative process, she brings intuition and rational thought together, while playfulness and curiosity serve as important guides.
Lúppa is an exhibition series in which two video works are presented together and played in a continuous loop. Every few weeks, the rhythm shifts as new works take their place.
