The photographer SigurÞór “Spessi” Hallbjörnsson is one of Iceland’s most important visual chroniclers. His style is bold, simple, and revealing, but loaded with humor, empathy and understanding of the subjects, places or situations he photographs.
111
Upper Breiðholt, postcode 111 Reykjavík, stands high and rises like a fortress in the cityscape. The neighbourhood has a significant social and architectural history, since it was one of the city’s first suburbs, which was planned and built with the aim of solving the housing problems of low wage earners in the years between 1965-1980. Even though the last of the original residents proudly cherish the memory of the early years of its development, the 111 postal code has, over the decades, become a symbol of the neighbourhood’s social segregation from the core of the business community and its cultural development.
Spessi’s photographs reveal a meeting of different worlds and the effort of the photographer to bridge the gap between him and his material and create intimacy. We feel the pain, language difficulties and the suspicion of those who have come from afar and find it difficult to allow a photographer into their world in both a literal and figurative sense. Some pictures reveal solitude: talk to me, look at me, help me – while others display pride, kings and queens in their kingdoms, big or small. Thus the individuals in Spessi’s photographs appear in a context that might be called a manifestation of truth in a silent dialogue with the viewer who understands that no room for interpretation is being offered here, but rather a stark encounter with reality.
The exhibition will be open until 5th of December and visiting hours at Slaturhusid are tue-fri 11-16. For visits outside regular opening hours please contact us in email mmf@mulathing.is or call 00354 7673323
