Drawings, performance and water flow at Hafnarborg

New exhibitions at Hafnarborg

Drawings hanging from the ceiling and pieces of plastic washed ashore by ocean currents are among the exhibits awaiting visitors at two new exhibitions at Hafnarborg. Thoughts by Styrmir Örn Guðmundsson and The flow of water by Beili Liu will be opened on Thursday, 12 November at 6 p.m. At the opening, Styrmir Örn will also perform a new performance.

Beili Liu's arrival at the museum coincides with a significant milestone, as this year marks 40 years since the Hafnarborg artists' residency began. It is the oldest of its kind in Iceland, where artists from all over the world have stayed to create their art. Liu was a visiting artist there in the winter of 2023–2024 and now returns with an exhibition.

Visitors walk between drawings

Styrmir Örn combines drawings and performance in the exhibition Hugrenningum. Large drawings, created over the last ten years, hang from the ceiling and form an installation that visitors can walk around.

The installation will also serve as a stage for the performance by Styrmir Örn at the opening. The performance will subsequently be shown as a video work in the exhibition. In this way, the artist seeks a point of contact between the still and the moving.

Styrmir Örn works with performance, drawings, sculpture and music, and has exhibited his work widely at home and abroad. The curator of Hugrenningar is Heiðar Kári Rannversson.

Human impact on ocean currents

Water is a recurring theme in the works of Beili Liu. In the exhibition The flow of water She focuses on the relationship between man and nature and how fragile that relationship is. The works are based on her ongoing artistic research in the Arctic and surrounding areas.

In the exhibition's eponymous installation, fragments of plastic that have weathered and faded in the natural environment are brought together. Ocean currents have carried them long distances, and the fragments bear witness to the impact of human activity on the Earth and its ecosystems.

Liu is an American visual artist, born in China and based in Austin, Texas, where she is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Her works have been exhibited worldwide. The curator of The Stream of Water is Hólmar Hólm.

Both exhibitions run until 21 February 2027. Everyone is welcome to the opening.

• And remember, admission to Hafnarborg is free.
• The museum is open from 12–17 every day except Tuesdays.