Saturday 16 June 2007

Interview: ICELANDIC LOVE CORPORATION


The Icelandic Love Corporation are enigmatic and their colourful, life affirming works are transient or anonymous. Because of this and having read numerous other interviews, I knew that this would be a challenge; a bit like catching smoke with a net or a scooping up the same piece of river more than once.

Their work spans a wide range of mediums including performance, sculpture, installations, music, film, television, painting, and literature. While certainly emotive, like their creators, the works are resistant to analysis. Trying to do so is rather pointless; a bit like trying to create a specific blueprint for how to run the rake through a Zen garden.

What I will say is that I find their work honest and refreshing with a seriousness that isn't cumbersome. As a whole, their body of work is like an ornate diary, a window into their own personal journeys with the most incredible, enlightening outlook.


In regards to the name of your group, would you explain the importance of the trio of words from which it is made: Icelandic, love, and corporation? And aside from the name itself, what changed between the group being known as Gjörningaklúbburinn and The Icelandic Love Corporation?
Well, we never thought about it as a trio of words, per se. When this name was first used, we were actually a quartet. Dóra Isleifsdóttir was a part of the group from 1996 - 2001. Why we chose those three exact words is both easy and hard to explain. Icelandic, well that's a fact. We are icelandic. Love. we like it. it is a strong idea. It is both a redeeming, creative and destructive element. but most of the time a very good thing. corporation.
"Some people seem to automatically connect the word love to something kitschy or childish. We really don't understand that."
Probably the megalomania in us back then was pretty strong. but also we thought it was funny. to be a corporation of four girls. We did not really sit around contemplating about this name for a very long time. it just seemed right. through the years we have thought about it from time to time and have grown to like it more and more. Some people seem to automatically connect the word love to something kitschy or childish. We really don't understand that. well partly we do, but we think that's unfair to love.

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