Motivational Award 2021: Una Björg Magnúsdóttir
The recipient of the Motivational Award 2021 is Una Björg Magnúsdóttir (b. 1990) for her exhibition Vanishing Crowd, at Reykjavik Art Museum, Hafnarhus.
The title of the exhibition is borrowed from the illusionist David Copperfield, who made people disappear without a trace on a stage in Las Vegas. Una Björg incorporates different objects and compositions in her works, which are often mobile or emit sounds. In installations, sculptural stage design is paired with hyper-familiar, quotidian images such as a coffee pot or the glide of a pen. Vanishing Crowd positions these elements between absence and presence, creating a theatrical experience that evokes a sense of wonder and an uncanny tapestry of implicit references.
