The eighth iteration of The Factory, Enchanting Portals, refers to passages through gaps, time, and realms. Drawing on the word “paganism,” all 13 artists have crafted sensitive installations which rise alone yet correspond—almost ritually—in the strange intimacy of the worn concrete walls. There is a comfort to the somewhat unreal setting: as we move between pieces derived or inspired by shamanic drums, the skull of a wild boar, and Norse mythology, we are reminded that life is never linear. Rather, life is a braid of chaos, divinity, stones, plants, animals, decay, growth, and birth. Stopping for a moment with that vision in mind, consider paganism’s worship of multiple gods and its belief of man-nature unison as the mystifying underbelly of the exhibition.

The artworks are installed in five settings: the Meal Corridor, the Storage Room, the Aisle of the Conveyor Belt, the Fish Oil Tank, and outside, opposite the bridge.

Artists:

Alda Ægisdóttir (IS)
Clara Holt (IT)
Ferrelyte (Kamile Pikelyte og Victoria Björk Ferrell) (LI / IS)
Florence Giroux Gravel (CA)
Gudrita Lape (IS)
Heimir Hlöðversson (IS)
Jana Rinchenbachová (CZ)
Jette Dalsgaard (DK)
Linnéa Falck (SE)
Maria-Carmela Raso (CA)
Nína Óskarsdóttir (IS)
Sofie Hermansen Eriksdatter (DK)

Curator: Emilie Dalum

Enchanting Portals, that runs throughout the summer from 10 June to 15 September, 2023, in the old herring factory in Djúpavík.
Open daily 10am – 6pm

Contact: emilie@thefactory.is
instagram.com/djupavikart/

The Factory is an annual group exhibition situated in the abandoned herring factory in Djúpavík in the Westfjords of Iceland. By integrating a broad variety of site-specific art, installations and sound, The Factory builds a bridge between the vanished fishing industry and contemporary art. Icelandic and international artists, emerging and established, are represented. Each work is inspired by the artist’s personal impressions of Iceland, ultimately (re)creating an exhibition space in conversation and in contrast with the surroundings of Djúpavík. For each new iteration, a sub-theme is integrated. The overall goal is to form a space of sensory explorations where past and present meet—a place for everyone to breathe, exist and be.