Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter: NERVESCAPE VIII

The year 2019 at Kiasma will kick off in February with a show by the internationally renowned New York-based Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, also known as Shoplifter. For Kiasma’s fifth floor she will create a site-specific installation NERVESCAPE VIII. The subtly humorous installation made from synthetic hair allows viewers to enter into a colorful world and to pet the hair “as if it were a shy old mammoth,” like the artist describes it.

Joy, playfulness, and innocence are potential experiences Shoplifter conveys within her art. Hair, both real and fake, is Shoplifter’s signature material and trademark. She sees hair as being associated with fashion, self-expression and vanity. We use our hair to tell other people who we are. As a raw material for art, hair evokes mixed feelings: a furry work of art can be appealing and repelling at the same time. Hair is like “a remnant of the wildness that we possess,” says Shoplifter. 

The new installation at Kiasma forms part of the Nervescape series. The installation changes shape and size depending on the location. NERVESCAPE VIII in Kiasma is like climbing vines, surrounding the viewer on all sides. “It’s never really the same piece,” says the artist in an interview with Reykjavik Grapevine. “I imagined something like this when I saw the space, but I never know exactly how it will come out.”

The series is partly inspired by the artist’s interest in neuroscience and brain research. Tangles of hair resemble nerve cells and neurological pathways in their organic structure, but Shoplifter wants her art to impact our synapses in a more direct sense. She believes that when we are exposed to vibrant colors, it triggers the release of serotonin in the brain. She wants to inspire feelings of joy and happiness, as she believes “happy people tend to treat each other more nicely.”

The installation will also include live events, from musical performances to panel discussions. In February a concert with Icelandic musician Högni will take place in the exhibition and in April Performing Love festival will focus on showing kindness to one another.

Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir was born in Reykjavik in 1969. She is currently based in New York. She took the name Shoplifter because her Icelandic name proved too difficult for many foreigners to pronounce. “Shoplifter” is one of many misheard versions of her name. Shoplifter’s art dwells comfortably on the borders between art, fashion, traditional craft and design. She collaborates frequently with other artists and musicians. The exhibition at Kiasma is Shoplifters first solo exhibition in Finland. Shoplifter will represent Iceland at the 2019 Venice Biennale.

The theme of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma’s 2019 programme is goodness, with exhibitions and performances throughout the year exploring the ideas of giving, sharing, hospitality and encounters. We will invite viewers to make art themselves and to experience first-hand its power to bring joy and inspiration. At the same time with NERVESCAPE VIII we will open a group exhibition Stage is Yours. Kiasma’s 4th floor will be taken over by participatory and experiential works exploring the themes of giving and hospitality. The featured works will include The Mending Project by Taiwanese artist Lee Mingwei in which he mends visitors’ clothes. David Shrigley invites visitors to draw sketches of a humorous sculpture, with the sketches then mounted on the wall in the same space as the sculpture. Other featured artists are Christian Falsnaes, Amalia Pica and Sasha Pirogova.