Quality Time

Quality Time at the National Gallery of Iceland

You are warmly invited to a specialist-led tour of the exhibition Seas’ Blue Yonder.

How can art create new ways of seeing the world—perspectives that are not centred solely on humans but include all other living beings? In the exhibition Seas’ Blue Yonder, artists Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson shed light on the complex relationship between humans and whales.

For more than two decades, Bryndís and Mark have been at the forefront of interdisciplinary research into ethical questions concerning relationships between species—an issue that is becoming increasingly urgent in the shadow of species extinction.

They explore interactions between people and animals in dialogue with research by scholars and scientists from different fields, addressing the cultural and social factors that influence ecosystems and the behaviour of both humans and other creatures.

Through prints, watercolours, sculptures, sound installations, and video works, Bryndís and Mark open a conversation around a sensitive subject grounded in cultural-historical discourse and symbolic references.

In Seas’ Blue Yonder, they focus on the lives of particular whales they have followed—either through the accounts of others or directly during fieldwork in Skjálfandi Bay. The exhibition presents a paradoxical picture: on the one hand, the emotional responses of people to stranded whales, and on the other, the debates surrounding whaling in Iceland. It offers an opportunity to reconsider the complex and often contradictory relationship between humans and whales.

Quality Time events are designed for people in their later years. These gatherings combine tailored guided tours with informal conversations with museum specialists about art, current exhibitions, and the work of the museum.

They offer visitors the opportunity to engage with art and the nation’s cultural heritage in a variety of ways. Coffee is always served at Quality Time events at the National Gallery of Iceland.

Museum admissions apply.