We always recommend to everyone that they visit North Atlantic House because the permanent exhibitions have always been fantastic. It’s a museum and gallery that focuses on the culture and history of the Faroe Islands, which are a part of Denmark but have their own distinct identity. Moreover, right now there are two incredible exhibitions that nobody can afford to miss, each very different from the other.
Nervescape IX
Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir is better known as Shoplifter and she works with hair. You read that right – Shoplifter’s medium of choice is that very human thing and she uses a mixture of real and synthetic hair in her artwork. Hair is something that is very personal and unique to individual human beings. It’s an intrinsic part of our identities – people dye it, cut it, grow it and lose it, and each of those experiences has an impact on the way that we feel about ourselves.
This exhibition is the first solo exhibition of Shoplifter’s work in Denmark and it’s an absolute explosion of colour and texture. Who knew that an exhibition of multi-coloured hair could be so interesting? It’s like entering another world and it really forces you to consider the concept of identity and how identities externalise themselves via mediums such as hair colour and style.
Cosmic Room
In 2002 Faroese artist Tróndur Patursson set out on an adventure with his friend on a boat in the ocean. The boat began to sink, and with the boat, he and his friend began to sink into the water. He saw an infinite sky and an infinite ocean, and if you visit the cosmic room you will too find yourself in an infinite blur of blue.
He obviously lived to tell the tale and this unfortunate accident was the inspiration behind the cosmic room. There have been a few cosmic rooms created by Patursson and this one is shaped like an igloo. At night it lights up and if you lay down inside it you’ll find that it takes you to another, more mindful dimension.