The Film Archive presents a new exhibition of recent videos from Iceland.

The exhibition A jaorinum (transl. On the Edge) is the first screening program of Icelandic videos in New Zealand. The aim was to gather video works from a younger generation of Icelandic practitioners and to explore their visual styles, thematic approaches and filmic languages. Iceland, with only a population of a little bit more than 300.000 people, has an incredible rich and innovative, experimental artistic production, not only in the area of video, but also in the traditional media of sculpture and painting.

The works in this exhibition document the wide range of themes and styles. A strong feminist approach is apparent in the works by Ásdís Sif Gunnarsoottir or Dodda Maggy, while Sigurour Guojonsson uses the icy landscape and ruined houses as stage settings for dark and uncanny, almost movie-like works. Sara Riel ridicules the stereotypes of pixies, and Ragnar Kjartansson plays with the cliché of melancholy and depression on one hand, with catastrophic relationships between mother and son on the other hand. Stark conceptual works like Slagteri by Hlynur Helgason contrast with the playful animations by Sigga Bjorg Siguroaoottir, while the re-enactments of dreams by Raohildur Ingaoottir and the absurd settings by Hrafnkell Sigurosson contrast with the light, but touching works by Kristin Helga Karaoottir.

A jaorinum opens at the Film Archive, Wellington 15 February 2008