REGULATORS & LOBBYISTS - 2024
“Regulators & Lobbyists” is a work in public space. Exhibiting art in a public space is a matter of public interest – as in making art available to the public. This sentiment is taken a step further by reflecting on the interests of the public in a broader sense and in the language of art. The work therefore addresses conflict between regulators and lobbyists as the foundation for political interactions inspired by the Icelandic magazine ‘Birtingur’ with its peculiar intermingling of design aesthetics and visual arts that exemplified high-modernism in Iceland. However, the author does not consider the work to be political in the sense of taking a position on the legitimacy of this system or any particular individuals within it. Rather, the assumption is that the act of describing the situation concerning the interests of the public is a way of protecting those interests. Not necessarily by stating the facts but rather through a vocabulary of visual imagery.
Paint on wall in public space
1200 x 300 cm
The artwork makes use of various logos – symbols that act as stand-ins for regulators such as Icelandic Standards (IST) – a council whose main concern lies in establishing standards for regulators to enforce. Or of stakeholders like the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise – whose purpose is to safeguard the interests of its members. In the case of the Patent Office's logo, however, it is an example of an institution whose purpose is simultaneously to guard the interests of those who hold intellectual property and monitor its legitimate use by granting patents. The mural depicts logos that are no longer in use due to legislative changes or rebranding. Or are borrowed from institutions that are not well known and the origin of their imagery therefore not easily deduced.
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The mural reflects an interplay between regulators and lobbyists as a kind of alternating rhythm in which one logo is sometimes above and sometimes below the other – so that each takes turns at having the upper hand over the other. This creates imagery that could be described as an attempt to portray conflicts between groups wherein each guards their respective interests as the foundation for a political interaction – one that is in constant flux but nevertheless aims to achieve a kind of appropriate balance. Or, as is written about the design of the logo for the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise that was in use from 1999-2014: "The logo of the association is considered to reflect a strong and progressive coalition with a common policy that also allows for freedom and the liberty to take action."
The exhibition is supported by Myndstef - The Icelandic Visual Art Copyright Association.