Art Life:
Álfheiður Ólafsdóttir
"My Mountain"

Álfheiður Ólafsdóttir held an exhibition in Grindavík from 29. January until 23. February 2005.  The name of the exhibition was "My Mountain".

In August 2004 I went along with my daughter, María Rún and my niece Dagný. We headed east to the country side.

An unusual heat wave made camping great. We found a spot for our tent where Mt. Þríhyrningur was clearly visible, dignified but ever so loyal. We slept in the tent for four nights. Girls discovered some things to do but I painted pictures of the mountain I call "My Mountain".

Evenings were perfect for fun ghost trips to deserted farm houses in darkness. The high temperature often makes ground fog creep in over the flat land. An Icelandic proverb says "Much hides in the fog".

We camped at what once was the river bed of Markarfljót river. Sometimes the ground fog was thick enough to make crawling into the tent and go to sleep a little bit ghostly.

This picture was painted before noon on a beautiful morning. Ground fog was creeping everywhere until 9:00 am. I often looked out and just crawled back in. I thought to myself: "I can't paint today, because I can't see anything". But the all of a sudden the fog moves further and further away from the mountain and the mountain is literally born out of the fog. I was completely fascinated and tried to capture the spirit of the moment.

We observed the mountain from various viewpoints. It changed steadily according to our position. Here you can see how the mountain looks from the hill by Stöðlakot, south-west of Þríhyringur.

Here the mist makes viewing the mountains rather difficult. This picture is shot south-east of the mountain.

This point of view is east of Þríhyrningur.

I found out that "My Mountain" is unbelievably complicated. I tried to capture the mountain in three dimensions. Had pictures as support as well as a map with altitude lines. I am certain that the three-dimensional sculpture is not accurate but this is what I FEEL it is like.

This painting is done based on feelings and thoughts towards the mountain. I think it is like a "fairy tale".

"It is mystical"

This summer I intend to hike up the mountain and look at it from above. That way the exhibition is only the beginning of the research on the mountain and its multible faces. This will be a continuous project over the next years.

All paintings from the exhibition are at my home page:

art-iceland.com/alfheidur

Álfheiður Ólafsdóttir