Figments, of Love torment and Fastidious Research into Privat Lives.

Thordis Alda Sigurdardottir collects signs, traces and all sorts of labels that define the lives of individuals and which accompany these individuals for a time. In all their randomness, they hold a similarity, while the subjects give this mish mash of things offered on the table of their lives their own particular colour and characteristic. The artist does not look at those little worlds from adistance. She is hot on the heels of the subject, like a tramp that picks up things that used to belong to that person, before they became unnecessary. There is no such thing as dead objects. Large and small objects and all sorts of junk and unnecessary

things come alive in the work of Thordis Alda. Their true nature is extracted, though that is not necessarily the nature awarded them by their role. They have a tendency to oppose it, betray it, and abandon it. With their unique individuality they poke fun at attempts to objectify and standardize human life, because even a coffee machine that shares its name and serial number with others from the same series dances away from the chorus line when least expected. It is given a chance upon meeting the artist´s understanding of the fact that everyone has dreams and desires. That is why Thordis Alda embraces objects, weaves things around them, decorates and binds them in order to hold them together. It is like she is cought in the middle, trying to save them. From what? From obscurity, neglect, lack of recognition? Not only and not always. Pity is far removed. It is more likely that she is giving them an opportunity to feel proud and a little self-satisfied. She gets the objects to strike a pose and sing. Probably they sing the national anthem of pop music: ,, We are the world, we are the children. We are the ones to make a brighter day, so let´s start giving.‘‘ Not everyone is able to hold a tune.

Dr. Sigríður Þorgeirsdóttir / 2004

Objects and  Roles

“I look back. I do so because I like to have firm ground under my feet, to know and try to understand where I come from, why and how the past is shaped like it is, and to see how time affects people’s life and work. That sounds like a security council for a united past, present and future.”[1]

These words spoken by Þórdís Alda Sigurðardóttir tell us a lot about the temperament of her work. She evokes a sense of times long passed but also connected to the passing hour. In her quest for material, Þórdís collects utensils from her environment, both those that have aged into old scrap iron that has almost been welded into the landscape, and personal objects retrieved from acquaintances. She picks up these objects and examines them, places them in a new context and then connects them back into time. All these items have one thing in common: they have been left behind by us, whether it be out in nature or at the bottom of a drawer. Their role is finished, they’ve been abandoned but they’re still with us, dispersed in our environment. They raise questions about our consumer society and its exponential growth. This rapid consumption leaves traces that become more and more noticeable as time goes on. If we look forward we realize that consumption speed will only increase, a message transmitted to us from the present.Germination, Overflow and Kitchen Life (2004) are all on the subject of the relationship between man and nature, and on the effects of man’s consumerism on nature. The traces man leaves behind, how he weighs down the earth with his rich and rapid consumption.

Harpa Þórsdóttir 

Uppsprettan sem ég sæki efnivið og hugmyndir mínar í er umhverfið og upplifanir þó einkum og sér í lagi það sem ber eða hefur borið fyrir augu mín daglega. Almennt umhverfi , athafnir manna, venjur, áhöld, endurtekningar og aðferðir.

Dótakassi samtímans, textill ýmiskonar, fatnaður, tæki og tól hafa löngum ratað inn í verkin mín með ýmsum hætti. Ég leiði gjarnan saman ýmis ólík efni svo sem málm og silki eða flauel sem ögra hvort öðru í meðhöndlun og vinnslu með skírskotun í hið kven og kvarllæga. Ég vinn mikið með endurtekninguna í smærri verkum og í innsetningunum snýst innihaldið yfirleitt á einhvern hátt um náttúruna og tilvist og áhrifa mannsins sem órjúfanlegan þátt hennar .

Það hefur t.d. komið fram með hljóði eins og samtölum, fuglasöng eða þátttöku sýningargesta.

Sérstaklega á þetta við um innsetningarnar sem ég hef gert í gegnum árin.

Þetta daglega og það venjubundna sem oft nær lítilli athygli vekur áhuga minn. Allt það sem mönnum er tamt að gera á rútínukenndan hátt þannig að það þykir fremur ómerkilegt ,það finnst mér fróðlegt og oft skrýtið.

Efni, svo sem allskyns textill og hlutirnir sem verða fyrir valinu sem hráefni í verkin mín eru rúin fyrri tilgangi því ég er með önnur sambönd og nýjar fyrirætlanir á prjónunum um framtíðarhlutverk og útlit þeirra. Oft fer af stað ákveðinn spuni eða ferli meðan á vinnslunni fer fram og oft ræður efnið hvar numið er staðar.

Þórdís Alda Sigurðardóttir

Figments of love and fastidious research on private lives

They have been around, but have no complete picture of things. Either they get lost in details or they drift off into outer dimensions of the universe.

All things human are of interest to them. To understand yourself you have to watch what others do, but they know that to understand other people they have to look into their own hearts. Therefore they are totally self preoccupied. By elevating the ordinary and inflating the insignificant they try to increase their own value. Their curiosity is unlimited, and when they seem to be giving off themselves they are in fact gathering material for their artistic creations. They are concerned with grand feelings and vague sensations. They are merciless in their observations, and look for traces in junk boxes as well as in fairy tales. They sense the hidden in the surface of things, the superficial in their depths, and despair in love. They convey figments of love and desire in their works of art. The real motive for their art is however to make a difference in the world.