Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir a.k.a. Shoplifter will create the Icelandic pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale, RÚV reports. The Icelandic art Centre chose her project from 17 suggestions for the Biennale and it will feature the music of rock band HAM.
“I’m so happy with this. It’s like qualifying for the Olympics of art. The Icelandic pavilion has always attracted attention and I won’t have it any other way,” Hrafnhildur told RÚV. Hrafnhildur lives in New York and for the past fifteen years, she’s been working on the usage and symbolic nature of hair, as well as its aesthetic and artistic possibilities. For the Icelandic pavilion, she will be creating a large installation that will test all the senses. “I’m going to make it so that when you enter the pavilion, a large space, you’ll never see the inside of the building. You’ll be surrounded by hair, it’s going to be a cave of hair stalactites.”
Hrafnhildur has commissioned rock band HAM, which famously features Iceland’s former minister for health, to compose music for the installation, to be played on a loop. “They’ve gotten me through many a final run when I’m finishing up a big exhibition and I’ve just about had enough of hair. I’ll put some HAM on and get the power to finish, “ Hrafnhildur told RÚV.
