Hugarflug annual conference on artistic research
11. - 12. September 2025
Iceland University of the Arts
For the last 15 years, I have been developing an approach to art making through practice and artistic research. That approach entails bringing out specific and hidden aspects in phenomena such as places, buildings, objects, artworks, stories, and moments. From here on, I will use the word “phenomena” to refer to them. Objects in this context can be manufactured objects, works of art, and things I create. It entails thinking of my artworks and research as shadow vacuums that suck up and help me shape what I call shadow materials. I use the term shadow material for multifaceted phenomena that cling to objects, artworks, buildings, and places. These can be microhistories, moments in installation, storage, transport, or packaging. Memories, discussions, documents in the archive, transformation of materials, transitions in media, framing, historical context—all fragments entangled with the phenomena I am researching in a given project. To bring out these shadow materials, I use a combination of methods under the umbrella of art research.
In my doctoral studies the research task is to outline and show what this way of working is doing and can do in further research projects and then to test the applicability of this way of working to a specific set of objects namely time-based media works of art which include sound works, video works, kinetic works, multi-media installations in the collection of the National Gallery of Iceland.
Berglind Jóna Hlynsdóttir
Visual Artist and Doctoral Candidate, Iceland University of the Arts and Iceland University
Berglind has been active in the international and national art scene for many years, worked as a photographer until 2003, completed a B.A in art 2006 from LHÍ, a M. A in art 2010 from Valand School of Fine Art, added a diploma in art pedagogy 2020, LHÍ. Received a 2 year study grant from the Guðmunda Andresdóttur fund managed by the National Gallery of Iceland and MA Graduation grant from Greta Munthe Sandberg´s fund. Has received a large number of grants and awards for her work, e.g. international studio and exhibition grants, travel and production grants from KÍM, Muggur, Myndstef, National Music Fund, Reykjavík Cultural Night as well as the National Artist Salary. She is a current phd. art researcher at LHÍ, HÍ and LÍ and has worked as an organizer, university teacher, and lecturer.