Ragnheidur Gestsdottir

To Icelandic artist Ragnheiður Gestsdóttir, coming to ekwc was like entering a candy store: “anything you may need is right there for the taking,” she says; “it has all been thought out so carefully.” Working extensively with ceramics for the first time, she took the opportunity to experiment freely and enjoy the physicality of the clay or the endless possibilities of the glazes. Gestsdóttir, who has an MA in Visual Anthropology from Goldsmiths College as well as an MFA from Bard College, is fascinated by the visual languages people use to represent themselves and their social standing. At EKWC she continued working with symbols she has worked with in her previous works, the Greek column and the kettlebell. The column represents grandeur and authority in architecture and the domestic settings whereas for Ragnheiður the kettlebell points to the body and its shape and how our fitness level is another marker of status and wealth. This simple exercise weight suggests leisure time for a daily work-out, “and then most of us end up using them as a door stopper… it’s so funny .”