SÍM Residency artists invite everyone to their event — Open Space opening, 26 September, 4:00 PM-8:00 PM, SÍM Barn—SÍM Barn Exhibition hall Korpúlffstaðir, Thorsvegur 1, 112, Reykjavik.

Open Space - a collective project by international artists participating in the SÍM Residency artist-in-residence program for August 2024. The works at the SÍM Hlöðuloftið exhibition space will represent the results of research the artists have been working on for the past month or longer. The artists come from various places worldwide and work with different mediums.

Arranged in an orderly row of flower petals, Marcel Tarelkin's presence in the exhibition space marks the artist's commitment to intuition and substance. The central theme is the flower, Hildur María Hallgrímsdóttir Jónasson's veil captures the fragility of the forget-me-not (Gleym-mér-ei). The white-grey tones evoke the gradual fading and disappearance of her Icelandic mother tongue, along with the tender tension between the artist's two affiliations to Iceland and Canada. In the rituals of the rural setting, the flower becomes a symbol that signifies both life and death. Beatrice Celli draws her performative work from Icelandic folklore, magic, and mystical landscapes, while she explores the rituals of Icelandic bathing customs. The boat is a vessel of passage in our connection to the ocean. The hull presses against the water, forming a boundary like skin separates body from air or the sea level divides ocean from sky. On this island, surrounded by Iceland's endless coast, Oskar Gustafsson is captivated by the mystery of the surface and the fine lines that both divide and unite the two worlds. The position of line, language, memory, space, and inner experience is observed by new relations in Martina Mäsiarová’s artistic practice. The object of her attention is a long-crafted poem, alongside her recording of the Dynjandi cascading waterfall, where motion flows gently through its quiet, continuous movement. Dynjandi is one of Iceland's untouched landscapes - the island's volcanic eruptions and melting glaciers are still carving new shapes. It has a quiet, powerful presence about transformation and memory. It is within this evolving terrain that Alexis Bancaz and Eetu Vekki immerse themselves, documenting and experimenting with the textures of these natural changes as part of their long-term joint project.

Participating artists:

Alexis Bancaz he/him - FR/DE @br.alexis

Eetu Vekki Palomäki he/him - FI @eetu.pal

Oskar Gustafsson he/him - SE @o.gustafsson

Martina Mäsiarová she/her - SK @mmmasiarova

Beatrice Celli she/her - FR @beatrice.celli

Hildur María Hallgrímsdóttir Jónasson she/her CA/IS @hildur_jonasson_art

Marcel Tarelkin he/him - DE @marcel.tarelkin