Naglasúpa, Hidden Saga
Materials: Repurposed Ikea brand furniture, electric stove, food produce, kitchen utencils, wool fishing net
Naglasúpa means nail soup in Icelandic and describes something as being the sum of its parts. Naglasupa, Hidden Saga is the sum of its three component parts: an audience activated performance undertaken from a temporary kitchen installation, edible plant sculpture/installation, and series of wall-mounted mixed media works. A response to three months community engagement in the fishing village of Skagaströnd in Northern Iceland during Winter 2013 and one month in Summer 2012. This half day event took place in the former schoolhouse basement used as library storage and faces onto the harbour of fishing boats – the community industry. For this work I explored cliches of both historical and modern Icelandic food habits, pointing to their global fish industry, local economy, and life in a small community.
The audience participation in this performance points to the Icelandic tradition of communal eating, because a shared ritual communicates at the level of performance. This is significant because ritual aids us in selecting an experience for concentrated attention, and in turn points to it being one part in a pattern that, is a necessary step for being aware of the next. In this context, the act of eating becomes a medium for the more enduring act of remembering. Each of the four selected dishes for this event relate to my experiences of foraging, cooking, and sharing meals with the community. The fishing net surrounding the kitchen installation is made from lópi wool donated by local women, and the process of weaving it became a significant daily ritual and a symbolic metaphor.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, it’s art funding and advisory body.
This project has been assisted by Menningarráð through Nes Artist Residency program.