In the exhibition Tíma Mát, Rúrí turns her lens toward the sublime beauty of Icelandic nature, offering poetic tributes to the forces of nature. The icy cold and crashing surf have a tangible presence in the works on display. The pieces are poetic yet urgent, pointing to the danger and loss looming over the future. Rúrí picks up the thread from Archive – Endangered Waters, one of her most renowned works, and invites guests to contemplate powerful reflections on the future of water and glaciers.

Tíma Mát presents works that have rarely or never been shown in Reykjavík, along with new pieces created specifically for the exhibition. The works are carefully selected with the location of SIND gallery in mind, which sits by the Reykjavík seashore, in an area where sea walls often offer little protection against extreme weather and storm surges. Rúrí’s works are therefore in direct conversation with the environment and the ocean beyond the stone barriers.

Rúrí approaches her work philosophically, asking questions, conducting research, and developing her art toward clarity and precise observations on the balance of nature and global warming. Over a five-decade-long career, she has established herself among the most respected artists in Northern Europe, a leading figure in visual art addressing ongoing environmental disasters, and a pioneer of performance art in Iceland. Her first public performance, The Golden Car, marked a turning point in Icelandic visual art in 1974.

Early in her career, Rúrí began using video and film in her artistic practice and was among the pioneers of European video art. Her video works have been exhibited around the world. Last November, Rainbow I was shown at Tate Modern in London. This year, she is exhibiting or performing in Vilnius, Lausanne, São Paulo, Skagafjörður, Svalbarðseyri, Umeå, and Reykjavík.

Iceland’s contribution to the 2003 Venice Biennale was her work Archive – Endangered Waters, an interactive multimedia installation visited by over 200,000 people, showcasing Icelandic waterfalls—many of which have since been submerged by the Kárahnjúkar hydroelectric reservoir or damaged by other developments. Since then, Rúrí has repeatedly brought attention to man-made disasters and the threats humans pose to nature.

For more information about Rúrí’s career, please visit her website.