Knowing the Ropes @ The Hallwyl Museum

Knowing the Ropes
At The Hallwyl Museum in Stockholm
7th February – 5th March, 2023

Knowing the Ropes is the name of an artistic project in which the Rope, as bearer of cultural and structural meaning, is explored within a contemporary Scandinavian context. The foundation of the project centres around two rope production facilities; Hampiðjan in Reykjavík, Iceland and Aarhus Possementfabrik in Denmark. Both have been operating since the early 20th century, producing ropes with nearly the same machines, but for two vastly different worlds: The Drawing Room and the sea. By exploring this intersection; where a rope on the one hand can save a life at sea, and on the other hand serve as an interior detail, three nordic artists have created objects with unexpected aesthetic and functional qualities.

 

This project was initiated by designers Brynhildur Pálsdóttir (IS), Þuriður Rós Sigurþórsdóttir (IS) and Theresa Himmer (DK) in 2017 and first manifested as a publication and collection of objects and video works at the Reykjavík Art Museum in 2021. As one of the Nordic regions best preserved examples of a victorian home at the turn of the 20th century, the artists have now taken their project to the Hallwyl Museum in Stockholm. By exploring the different rooms in the palace, and its founder Wilhelmina von Hallwyl herself, a collection of new objects and experiments have evolved along with a publication. The opening of the exhibition coincides with Stockholm Design Week 2023.

Artists

Brynhildur Pálsdóttir (IS), Theresa Himmer (DK), Þuriður Rós Sigurþórsdóttir (IS).
Curator: Gustaf Kjellin

Opening reception

The exhibition will be displayed from 7 February to 5 March 2023.
Suported by the embassy of Iceland.

 

Main picture: Íris Dögg Einarsdottir.

Product pictures: Benita Marcussen.

Brynhildur Pálsdóttir (IS) is a designer based in Reykjavik, Iceland. A graduate from Iceland University of the Arts in 2004 and Design LAB at Gerrit Rietvelt Academie in Amsterdam in 2005, the local environment is a constant pivot in her raw material research-based design. Over time she has developed an interdisciplinary approach to exploring and innovating with at-hand materials and culture, striking up collaborations with professional figures from various backgrounds. Selected acclaimed projects are Vík Prjónsdóttir, In Search of Porcelain and Chocolate Mountains.

Þuriður Rós Sigurþórsdóttir (IS) has practiced as a designer and visual artist since she graduated from Central Saint Martins College, London in 2000 and School of Visual Art in New York in 2008. She is a founding member of Vík Prjónsdóttir which has received recognition, grants and appeared in multiple publications. Þuriðurs work questions the accepted constructs of our everyday reality through pieces that are quietly poetic and often consider the boundaries between art and design.

Theresa Himmer (DK) is a visual artist and architect based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is a fellow of the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program (NYC, 2012), holds a MFA, Fine Arts from School of Visual Arts (NYC, 2011) and graduated from Aarhus School of Architecture in 2003. Spanning media including photography, video, installation and interior transformations, her practice as both artist and architect is research-based and often employs gestures of meditation and reflection as a means of mobilising overlooked poetics of the existing.