strengur (Icelandic)
streiŋ•kʏr
• the string of an instrument
• material consisting of threads of cotton, hemp, or other material twisted together to form a thin length such as rope, string or chord
• an even and persistent wind that runs along objects and geographic elements, such as mountains or buildings
I am sitting on an eroded concrete overlook. It is a sunny day. The air is nippy so the wind coming over the Öresund strait feels like gjóla. I have gathered stones and twigs and pinned down transparent sketching paper on top of the concrete. I pull out my old gut strings, they show me the wind direction and I tie one to a nearby railing, dip it in red ink and let go. The gjóla starts to play with the string, sending it across the paper. I sit on the cold ground and watch. Occasionally I swap the string or the paper, or re-dip the string in the inkpot. As the gjóla continues, red shapes appear. Patterns from the surface under the tracing paper emerge, made by stones encapsulated in the coarse cement, bird droppings and the lichen that lives on it.
RÖKKUR –
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Maja S. K. Ratkje & Nordic Affect
350 SEK
Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir Sweden
is a performer, composer and curator born in Iceland but currently based in Malmö, Sweden.
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