Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir

Welcome to the exhibition opening on Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM.

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The exhibition Future Remains by Icelandic artist Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir gives insight into her ongoing exhibition and research project that addresses our relationship and connection with nature in a changing world. She is interested in the juncture of natural and cultural heritage, when one becomes another or both. At Atelier Nord, she presents new video works, photographs, textile works, together with collection of natural samples, unruly artifacts and other markers of the Anthropocene.

From volcanic island and seafloor to glacier and birch forest

At the core of Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir’s artistic practice lies an active engagement with the places she travels through. In the exhibition, the audience can experience works that are the result of these research journeys. Examples include documentation from repeated visits to the volcanic island Surtsey; recordings of the seafloor from her expedition aboard the research vessel Kronprins Haakon, which crossed the Barents Sea from Svalbard; and samples ranging from ice cores taken from Iceland’s largest glacier to a flooded birch forest.

Fieldwork and research projects

Through collaborations with institutions such as the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, the Environment Agency, and the National Museum of Iceland, Þorgerður has contributed to the widening scope of scientific fieldwork and archival materials. She has twice received research permits to travel to the volcanic island Surtsey, which formed in an eruption between 1963 and 1967 and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008. Her time on the island has had a significant influence on her artistic practice. In 2023, she published the book Island Fiction with Relics of Nature, which brings together art works and essays that expands our ideas and connection to this remote island and the relationship between natural and cultural heritage.

She also participates in two interdisciplinary research projects: Extremes at the Arctic at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and Relics of Nature – an Archaeology of Natural Heritage in the High North at the University of Oslo.

About Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir

Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir (b. 1985) holds a Master of Fine Art from the Glasgow School of Art and a BA from the Iceland University of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at MASP, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (Brazil); the National Museum of Iceland; Sequences Art Festival (Reykjavík, Iceland); Reykjavík Art Museum; Artierranti (Bologna, Italy); Scandinavia House (New York, USA); Catalyst Arts (Belfast, Northern Ireland); Demon’s Mouth (Oslo, Norway); and Glasgow International. Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir lives in Reykjavík.

The exhibition is supported by Rannis – The Icelandic Centre for Research, the Nordic Culture Point, Kulturdirektoratet and Oslo Council.

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Photo credit:
Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir. Tidal Forest. Photographs.
Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir. The storytellers. 2021. Photographs.