These works originated from a simple idea: to spend more time working with materials and observing how they react.

Initially, I wasn't trying to show anything in particular. The understanding came gradually through the process. As the layers built up and shifted, the works began to resemble geological forms, minerals, cracks and patterned landscapes. Many of the images took on the appearance of aerial photographs, where the structure becomes visible from a distance.

Working in this way requires attention. Decisions spring from how the material responds, how it holds, offers resistance or transforms. The process is not predetermined but is shaped through iteration, adaptation and time. In this way, the work reflects geological formation: a slow build-up shaped by forces not always immediately apparent.

The paintings bear the traces of this process. They are not pictures of specific places, although the colour palette is shaped by my experience as a geoscientist in Iceland. Instead, they hold a sense of landscape, something that is being shaped, changing and continuing to come into being.

Amel Barich is a Moroccan geoscientist and interdisciplinary artist based in Iceland. Her work is created at the intersection of geology, cultural memory and visual art.

With roots in North African heritage, international experience and a background in earth sciences, she creates works that move between the inner landscape and the landscape of the Earth.

Her visual language is shaped by abstraction, natural materials and geological processes, and explores identity and the meaning of home. Her work brings together construction and intuition, material knowledge and personal narrative.

Alongside her artistic practice, she works in an interdisciplinary field of earth sciences, geothermal energy and ecological thought. Her work has been exhibited and presented at exhibitions, workshops and public events in Iceland and Morocco.

Curator: Elvar Gunnarsson

Special exhibition opening It will be on Thursday, 28th May from 6 pm to 8 pm, and you are welcome!

Other opening times:

Friday 29 May, 13:00–18:00

Sat. 30 May 13:00 - 17:00

Sun. 31 May 14:00 – 17:00

LG // Litla Gallerý is supported by the Culture and Tourism Committee.

Hafnarfjörður's due to the event

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This series began with a simple impulse: to spend more time working with materials and paying attention to how they respond.

At first, I was not trying to represent anything specific. Understanding emerged gradually through the process. As layers built up and shifted, the works began to echo geological formations, minerals, macro- and micro-structures, fractures, and patterned terrains. Many of the paintings began to resemble landscapes seen from above, where structure becomes visible through distance.

Working in this way requires attention. Each decision comes from how the material responds: how it holds, resists, or transforms. The process is not fixed in advance; it develops through return, adjustment, and time. In that sense, the work mirrors geological formation: slow, accumulative, and shaped by forces that are not always immediately visible.

The paintings bear traces of that process. They are not representations of specific places, although their palette is informed by my experience as a geoscientist in Iceland. Instead, they convey a sense of landscape – something formed, altered, and continuously becoming.

Amel Barich is a Moroccan geoscientist and interdisciplinary artist based in Iceland. Her work unfolds at the intersection of geology, cultural memory, and artistic practice.

Drawing from her North African heritage, international lived experience, and a background in Earth sciences, she creates works that move between inner and planetary landscapes. Her visual language is informed by abstraction, natural materials, and geological processes, while engaging themes of identity, belonging, and the meaning of home. Her practice brings together structure and intuition, material knowledge and personal narrative.

Alongside her artistic practice, she is engaged in interdisciplinary work spanning geoscience, geothermal energy, and ecological thinking. Her work has been presented through exhibitions, workshops, and public programmes in Iceland and Morocco.

Curator: Elvar Gunnarsson

There will be a Opening of a special exhibition on Thursday, 28th May from 18:00-20:00 and you are welcome!

Other opening hours

Fri 29th May 13:00 – 18:00

Sat 30th May 13:00 – 17:00

Sun 31st May 14:00 – 17:00

LG // Litla Gallerý is sponsored by the Culture and Tourism Committee of Hafnarfjörður for this event.