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Geirfugl

Geirfugl

Ólöf Nordal


  • Year : 1998
  • Height : 120 cm
  • Width : 50 cm
  • Category : Skúlptúr
  • Sub-category : Málmskúlptúr

Location: Skeljatangi, Skerjafirði. Ólöf’s Great Auk is made from aluminium, a replica of the extinct great auk. The sculpture stands on a rock off the coast, referencing Eldey Island, where the last two great auks in Iceland are believed to have been killed in 1844. Icelanders killed the pair for a foreign collector who offered them a high reward. Ólöf’s Great Auk stands on a skerry in Skerjafjörður and was originally installed there as part of the anniversary group exhibition “The Coastline” in 1998. The city of Reykjavík bought the sculpture in 2000 and reinstalled it in the same location, where it still stands. Behind the Great Auk sculpture lies a complex meaning, expressing Ólöf’s view of the national consciousness of the Icelandic people and their heritage. Ólöf’s Great Auk in Skerjafjörður looks to Eldey Island, pointing the viewer to the scene of the crime. Furthermore, it is cast in aluminium, a metal which Icelanders have sacrificed great natural resources to produce.

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