Laugarnesvegur 74a, 105 Reykjavík
Opening hours: 10:00 - 23:00, Thu/Fri from 09:00h, Sun-Mon till 22:00
Music piece / Tónverk
This
song reflects on the story of the ‘Vesturfarar’.
Around
1870-1910 almost one quarter of the Icelandic population left their
homes and resettled mostly in North America, in search for better
living conditions. Back then, life in Iceland was tough, poverty
levels were high and many people suffered from hunger. Most of the
voice recordings stem from the TV documentary ‘Vestur í bláinn’
(1975) and feature interviews with people who were part of the
emigration wave. One of them, Salomé, talks about the journey,
whilst Björn points out the difficulties of starting a new life in a
faraway country.
/
Þetta
lag endurspeglar sögu Vesturfaranna.
Um
1870-1910 flutti tæplega fjórðungur íslensku þjóðarinnar til
(Norður-)Ameríku, í leit að nýju og betra lífi. Lífið á
Íslandi var mjög erfitt á þessum tímum, fólk var fátækt og
skortur og hungur voru algeng. Flestir raddupptökur í laginu eru úr
heimildarmyndinni ‘Vestur í bláinn’ (1975), þar sem var talað
við fólk sem var sjálft partur af þessum fólksflutningum á
sínum tíma. Ein þeirra, Salomé, talar um ferðalagið, á meðan
annar, Björn, segir frá erfiðleikunum við að byrja nýtt líf í
nýju landi, langt í burtu.
Art piece / listaverk
by Ewa Marcinek
Driftwood
Video, 2020
Project in collaboration with
Michael Godden (cinematography, editing)
“‘Driftwood’
brings into question politicising and romanticising human migration
based on differentiating it from any other movements in nature.
Historically, the wood drifting to the shores of Iceland has been a
precious material in the mostly woodless island, hence returning
driftwood to the sea is a quiet yet rebellious act against the
economic and political perspective on migrations.”
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Ewa Marcinek is a Polish artist,
writer and producer living in Reykjavik. She is a co-founder of Ós
Pressan, a multilingual writing collective and publishing group, and
the international theatre company Reykjavík Ensemble. In her work
Ewa plays with memories, identities and private stories.
www.ewamarcinek.com