Today, RÚV English looks forward to a new exhibition, but also back 40 years to see why it might not be so new, after all.
In 1983, two Norwegian artists Göran Ohldieck and Kjetil Berge came to Iceland. The purpose of the trip was to set up a large exhibition titled MASKS at the Nordic House in Reykjavík - over 200 photograps and slides bubbling with queer aesthetics.
In fact, not many people saw the exhibition as it only lasted for two days. The artists packed up the exhibition and left the country.
The then management of The Nordic House were said to have wanted to censor the exhibition and asked the artists to remove "undesirable" works from the exhibition. The artists did not comply and packed the exhibition and left the country.
Now, 40 years later, it is time to reveal the exhibition's history, have a conversation about it and the censorship of queer art and artists. The exhibition that was never held will be opened to the public, at The Nordic House, under the curatorship of Ynda Eldborg on August 10, 2023.
Darren spoke to original artist Kjetil Berge about his and Göran's experience, and how he's looking forward to returning to Iceland after four decades have passed.
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The RÚV English Podcast is daily English language programming from RÚV, the national broadcaster of Iceland.
