Intervention and the Harnessing of Nature

wo very different exhibitions are currently on view at the Reykjavík Art Museum / Hafnarhús on Tryggvagata.
Blossoming Beauty is the title of the exhibition by photographer and visual artist Katrín Elvarsdóttir (b. 1964). In her photographic works, striking beauty meets reflections on origin and belonging. She explores what it means to belong, to put down roots — to be an outsider and yet part of a whole. Through her camera, Katrín follows plants, not with the intention of freezing them in time, but of documenting them and translating them into another form. The exhibition consists of four series, each dealing, to varying degrees, with human intervention in nature.

The second exhibition, Lavaforming, by s.ap Arkitektar, is Iceland’s contribution to the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2025. The exhibition tells the story of a future society that has learned to tame lava flows and harness them, transforming a local threat into an opportunity for creation. The narrative takes place in the year 2150, when Icelanders have mastered the flow of lava much like they harnessed geothermal power in the mid-20th century — a complete intervention in nature.
Compelling exhibitions, in the heart of Reykjavík.