Sigrún Gyða Sveinsdóttir

Born in 1993, lives and works between Amsterdam, Netherlands and Reykjavík, Iceland.

The narratives Sigrún Gyða Sveinsdóttir unfolds through her works are rich in contrast. In them, lyrical singing is performed in sportswear, while garments combine technical textiles with knitted and hand-dyed elements, showcasing ancestral craftsmanship. Her stories are expressed in rhymes, where races transform into collective choreographies, and fields and grandstands become stages for intimate operas. Sagas are told through a feminine voice.
In these anachronistic universes — between distant history and science fiction — sports are no longer about competition and performance but rather about connection, to oneself, to others, and the environment. The figure of the team becomes a metaphor for community, and the locker room evolves into a safe space where peers can recharge and prepare for battles nobler than individualistic contests. Those against social injunctions and gender norms, as well as confronting climate change, which the artist identifies as the ultimate enemy — a kind of final boss in the game she invites us to navigate.
Although the artist employs humor, her message is far from trivial, nothing is more serious than games!° They offer the perfect arena to experience and internalize social life, but also to reinvent rules and imagine future worlds. In Sigrún Gyða Sveinsdóttir's work, sports and stage play overlap, creating a cathartic effect that challenges our sense of agency and our capacity to impact the world. As she reminds us: “In the drama we call life, we all have a role to play.” Fortunately, “we're all on the same team.”°°

° Johan Huizinga, Homo ludens - Essai sur la fonction sociale du jeu, Editions Gallimard, 1951
°° Sigrún Gyða Sveinsdóttir, The Corridor, 2023. Hand-dyed wool, wood and video installation (14:38)

residency

13.01.25 – 02.03.25

Reykjavík Cross Residency,
in Clermont-Ferrand
in partnership with Nýlistasafnið (The Living Art Museum), Ambassade de France in Iceland, Alliance Française of Reykjavík, and SÍM residency. Support from Culture Moves Europe.