ICELAND REVIEW 3

4 FROM THE EDITOR

6 CULTURE CLUBFashion, books, films, music, art, photography, design and so much more.

14 THE PERFORMERWith his captivating performances, often inspired by his theatrical roots, Ragnar Kjartansson is making his mark on the international world of art. By Ásta Andrésdóttir. 18 SOUNDS OF INSPIRATIONComposer Anna Þorvaldsdóttir has struck the right chord with the world of music. Zoë Robert caught up with her.

20 I BLAME SIGUR RÓSEd Hancox on his passionate love affair with the Icelandic music scene, especially Sigur Rós.

24 LAVA, COMING TO TOWNWorld renowned volcanologist Haraldur Sigurðsson is not trying to scare us, simply warn us.

30 SOLSTICELANDWest Iceland inspired Páll Stefánsson one more time.

38 VIRGIN SALT MAKERSEygló Svala Arnarsdóttir visited young gourmet salt entrepreneurs deep in the heart of the West Fjords.

42 OF MOUNTAINS AND MENFor twenty-five years, photographer RAX traveled across Iceland’s rugged highlands, rounding up sheep with local farmers. Thankfully, he brought his camera. By Ásta Andrésdóttir.

48 THE PLAYMAKERNext season, Iceland’s new soccer star Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson will be playing in the prestigious English Premier League. He told Guðmundur Hilmarsson how he got there.

54 THE FIVE-TIME PRESIDENTSölvi Tryggvason analyzed the recent presidential elections, arguably the most turbulent the nation has ever seen.

60 MAKING A DIFFERENCEDespite its small size and financial woes, Iceland continues to make the world a better place with its extensive development aid, Ásta Andrésdóttir found out.

64 SKÁL!All about the ambitious micro-brewing business in Iceland, as reported by Jóhannes Benediktsson.

68 FREEDOMOn a bright summer’s night, Páll Stefánsson visited Spuni, the finest horse in the land. 70 DIGGING UP THE PASTWhatever happened to the Norse settlers in Greenland? Zoë Robert investigates.

74 TAKING THE CAKEDeb Smith sampled East Iceland’s culinary wonders.

80 HALLELUJAHIceland’s new bishop, Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir, surrounded by every female pastor in Iceland.

82 THE HEROINE OF GULLFOSSSigríður from Brattholt is the savior of Gullfoss, one of Iceland’s most amazing natural attractions.

86 FACTS & FIGURES

96 LAST PAGETake a ride in Ísafjörður, the capital of the West Fjords. By Páll Stefánsson.

CONTENTS

ICELAND REVIEWATLANTAA ICA

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4 ICELAND REVIEW

The other day I was asked, “What

is the most Icelandic of all things

in Iceland?” Without even think-

ing, I answered, “The outdoor pools.” I,

along with the rest of the population, enjoy

the pools all year round. My favorite time

to do so is December, when it is dark, cold,

and snowing. You are closer to heaven. 

Maybe I was wrong, maybe it’s the mu-

sic. Creative and hunting. Or the literature,

with its long history of the sagas. Or the

landscape, with long rows of craters and

snow-topped volcanoes. Or places where

the land meets sea, where mountains plum-

met sheer into the water and the land is cast

into insignificance by the vastness of the

ocean. The seabirds studding the sky like

black stars. The president? No. Too con-

troversial. 

Working at this magazine, I found the

most Icelandic thing: the horse. Unique,

independent, free. The breed comes in

more than one hundred colors. All have

their own name in Icelandic. Skjóttur

(pinto), slettuskjóttur (splashed white),

fífilbleikur (yellow dun), draugmoldóttur

(dark buckskin), litföróttur (roan), nösót-

tur (snip), or glaseygur (sclera). 

On page 68, you will meet one that is

the color of bay. You will not find him on

eBay. Ever.

Páll Stefánsson

ps@icelandreview.com

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION (WORLDWIDE) USD 40 or equivalent in other currencies. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Submissions should be accompanied by a self-addressed envelope and an international money order to cover postage, if return is required. No articles in this magazine may be reproduced elsewhere in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher. ISSN 0019-1094. Iceland Review (ISSN:0019-1094) is published quarterly by Heimur hf. in Iceland and distributed in the USA by SPP 75 Aberdeen Road Emigsville PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Iceland Review P.O. BOX 437 Emigsville PA 17318-0437.

Publisher Benedikt JóhannessonHead OfficeHeimur hf.Borgartún 23, 105 Reykjavík, Iceland

Tel: (+354) 512 7575 Fax: (+354) 561 8646 icelandreview@icelandreview.comPrinted in Iceland by Oddi

STUDDING THE SKY

EDITOR

Páll Stefánsson

DEPUTY EDITOR &

FEATURES EDITOR

Ásta Andrésdóttir

DESIGN

Erlingur Páll Ingvarsson

CONTRIBUTING

WRITERS

Ann SassDeb SmithEd HancoxEygló Svala Arnarsdóttir Guðmundur HilmarssonHaraldur SigurðssonJóhannes BenediktssonNanna ÁrnadóttirSölvi TryggvasonZoë Robert

CONTRIBUTING

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Áslaug SnorradóttirBernharð ValssonErnir EyjólfssonGeir ÓlafssonIngólfur JúlíussonLilja Birgisdóttir Ómar ÓskarssonPáll KjartanssonRAX (Ragnar Axelsson)

WEB EDITOR

Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir

COPY EDITORS

Ann SassZoë Robert

PRODUCTION

Erlingur Páll Ingvarsson

COLOR PRODUCTION

Páll Kjartansson

ADVERTISING SALES

Helga Möller

COVER PHOTO

RAX

Advertising Sales helga@heimur.isFor daily news from Iceland: www.icelandreview.com

ICELAND REVIEW

ATLANTICA

FROM THE EDITOR PH

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12 ICELAND REVIEW

CULTURE CLUBCULTURE CLUB

COMING HOME

PROMO-SHOTS

Ketilhús, Akureyri

August 3 – August 28 2012

This summer, Paris-based photographer Bernharð Valsson is coming home to exhibit his excellent portraits of celebrities in his home town of Akureyri, North Iceland. “There is a gender difference, I’ve noticed: women like to look good whereas men want to show that they have character,” says Bernharð. “And it’s a smidge more interesting for me as a photographer to try to get the character than the beauty shot.” PS

08

SEdward Hancox has developed an obsession with the Icelandic music scene. He tells us who to look out for, and why he firmly blames Sigur Rós.

24 ICELAND REVIEW

In Iceland, just about everyone

becomes an amateur geologist,

because the rock formations are

so obvious that you cannot miss

noticing their different features.

When you arrive in Iceland

and drive to the capital city of

Reykjavík, you only need to look out the

window to see that this is a very volcanic

country. The entire route to the city is

through rather bleak, dark grey and rugged

lava flows, and several of them are from his-

toric times, that is, they have erupted from

nearby volcanoes since Iceland was first

settled by the Vikings eleven hundred years

ago. In fact, fourteen of these lava flows

have erupted in historic time. How safe

is this part of Iceland, then, from volcanic

eruptions that will produce lava flows in the

near future?

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge cuts right

through Iceland and it accounts for much

of the volcanism. Just south of Keflavík air-

port, at the end of the Reykjanes peninsula,

the Mid-Atlantic Ridge emerges from the

ocean depths onto dry land. This feature

marks the boundary between the North

American plate to the west and the Eurasian

BY HARALDUR SIGURÐSSON PHOTOS BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON

LAVA, COMING TO TOWN

Three out of four Icelanders live in the capital region. The world-renowned volcanologist Haraldur Sigurðsson writes about the danger of eruption and a lava flow that might just be coming to town.  

Christianity firesKrýsuvík fires

Reykjavík

Kleifarvatn

HafnarfjörðurKeflavík

StraumsvíkKeflavík International Airport

Reykjanes fires

HISTORIC LAVA FLOWSPost-settlement of Iceland

Aprox. 900 AD

30 ICELAND REVIEW

Forever and ever, the endless day. From May to August, Iceland is blessed with nearly 24 hours of daylight. It is another world from the mid-winter darkness of December, up here in the northern hemisphere. The summer light and the landscape never ceases to surprise, taking on different guises with the shifting rain and light; rocks metamorphose into trolls and moss-mantled mountains stand on their heads in an unnamed lake. Nature is vulnerable; it takes decades to heal the wounds that mankind deals out to Mother Earth. Yet, with respect and care, we should be able to enjoy the light and the landscape in years to come. Hopefully, forever and ever.

SOLSTICELANDWORDS AND PHOTOS BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON

Night. Pebbles near Kálfhamarsvík, Skagi peninsula, Northwest Iceland. Fuji GX680 III, 180mm, Velvia.

42 ICELAND REVIEW

It all started with a single photo-

graph. Þórður Guðnason was a farm-

er at Kaldakinn, located close to

Landmannalaugar in Iceland’s rugged

highlands, who, each September, set

out with his men and rounded up his

large flock of sheep from their summer

pastures.

“In that photograph, he was this young and

strong Viking with blond hair, a big smile and a

horse with an equally big smile,” RAX recalls. A

prolific photographer, he has gained worldwide

renown for his striking images of man and nature.

His work has been featured in publications such as

National Geographic, LIFE and TIME and earned

him many prestigious awards.

Since that first photograph of Þórður and his

horse, twenty-three years have gone by. And almost

every year, RAX has accompanied him and his

team on that week-long journey across ravines,

mountains and lava fields, and close to glaciers. This

process has remained unchanged for centuries in

Iceland and the search is still conducted primarily

by horse or on foot.

The result is RAX’s latest book, entitled Behind

the Mountains.

“This tradition must be documented. It is a part

of Iceland’s history—of human history. Nobody

knows if it will survive; times are changing. It is

a beautiful way of life, and a quintessential part of

Icelandic culture we rarely get to see. In this book,

I wanted to portray this special interplay between

man, animal and nature.”

The round-up is an extremely difficult task. The

BY ÁSTA ANDRÉSDÓTTIR

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAX

OF MOOF MOF M UNTAINS OO

AND MEN

In his latest book, renowned photographer RAX takes us behind the mountains on an epic journey spanning almost a quarter of a century.

70 ICELAND REVIEW

DIGGING UP THE PAST

The Cathedral at Garðar (Igaliku) in Einarsfjörður fjord, Greenland. The first Bishop of Greenland was Arnald, in 1124; the last was Álfur, from 1368 to 1378. 

LAST PAGE

PHOTO BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON

96 ICELAND REVIEW