Projects for Volcanic Attitude

Curated by An Paenhuysen – Representing the artist Petúr Magnússon

The volcanic labyrinth of Pálsson, Völundarhús (Project for a Labyrinth, 1980), is transposed from the Nordic island to Stromboli. Between the beach of Stromboli and various locations in Ginostra unfolds the projection and partial reenactment of his "silent choir", Cross (1996/2013).

After a mini-mob-shop on the beach of the island of Stromboli, other non-vocal approaches will be explored, culminating in the screening of the 2013 edition of Cross.

Cross (1996/2013)  (1996/2013) was first performed in 1996 at the festival Margarethe Fjorden in Roskilde, Denmark and restaged in 2013 during Pálsson’s retrospective at the Reykjavik Art Museum. The various “non-voice choirs'' use sign language, Morse code, semaphore flags, rubbing stones, clicking sounds, nail clippers, nodding heads, bags, mittens and felt tipped pens.

Völundarhús (Labyrinth) (1980) is a project inspired by the 1973 volcanic eruption on the south coast of Iceland. It proposes to build moulds for a labyrinth to redirect the flow of lava during a next eruption. Once hardened, the labyrinth can serve “the adventurers of the sea”. “Boats can sail into it,” Pálsson suggests, “and search for the middle of the labyrinth where there are many pleasures to be found. The search for the middle may take anywhere from a few hours to several weeks depending on one's luck.” With the current overflow of lava on Stromboli, Pàlsson’s proposal obtains new urgency.