Íslenskir Fuglar (Icelandic Birds)
2008
Collage: Poster, tape, printed matter
The birds depicted in the collage are all the bird species imported to Iceland during the year 2005–2006. In this work, originally commissioned for the exhibition Bye Bye Iceland in Akureyri Art Museum, the artists looked at human ambivalence towards ideas of change, within Icelandic culture. On one hand, humans are conservative and suspicious of the disruption that change inevitably involves. On the other, they are drawn both to novelty and to the practical benefits that new introductions to our lives can bring. The tension suggested here is between what is considered to be manageable and controllable and what is deemed to be too disruptive and problematic; a judgment that is charged with potential miscalculations and incalculable cultural or ecological consequences. The taxidermic bird species in this two-part work are all those featured on a well-loved, Icelandic ornithological poster.