As individuals, we are marked by the choices we make; in the bigger scheme of things, the image we present is the nations calling card.
more
Icelanders are no longer among the worlds happiest people, according to a new report on the issue, authored by three American economists. Danes currently top the world happiness index and all of the Nordic nations, apart from Iceland, are in the top ten.
more
Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of how traditional Icelandic Easter eggs are made at the chocolate factory Ni Srus in Reykjavk. The eggs are made of a shell of creamy chocolate, which is decorated with flowers and chicks and filled with candy.
more
Akureyri (gravel bank field) promises visitors a lively stay with its many art galleries and museums, outdoor recreation in summer and winter, an awakening of the taste buds at the towns gourmet restaurants and breathtaking views of natural sites around the corner. Take a look at this special promotion about Icelands northern capital.
more
Watch this audio slideshow of orrablt, an Icelandic mid-winter feast. In the past there was no fresh food available at this time of year so people ate dried fish, smoked lamb, putrefied shark and soured blood and liver pudding along with other soured meat productsram testicles included.
Narration and photos by Eygl Svala Arnarsdttir. The first two photos and the last were taken at a Thorrablt celebration in Aalborg, Denmark, in mid-winter 2004. Courtesy of the organizers. The second to last was taken at a recent Thorrablt feast in New York, held inside an old church near Central Park. By sthildur Erlingsdttir.
Icelandic communities abroad are often particularly ambitious about celebrating orrablt, the Icelandic mid-winter feast. A couple may dress up in national costumes and offer guests a bite of putrefied shark and a shot of brennivn (Icelandic schnapps) when they arrive.
The venue is usually decorated with Icelandic flags and other national themes, like from Norse mythology. In Iceland, such parties are held to celebrate orrablt too, but many prefer having their mid-winter feast at home.
A traditional menu may consist of hangikjt, smoked lamb with boiled potatoes, green peas, red cabbage, apples and uppstfur, a sweet white sauce. If available, the dish is served with the traditional Christmas bread laufabraud and Christmas ale (a mixture of orange soda and malt).
While most people fancy smoked lamb, srmatur, soured lamb products, are not to everyones liking. They can be bought ready-to-eat in special trays and buckets at supermarkets.
Srmatur includes soured blood and liver pudding, ram testicles, sheep-head jelly, brisket and lundabaggi, a roll of secondary meats.
Also eaten at orrablt is putrefied shark and buttered dried fish. A traditional type of bread served alongside the orri dinner is flatkaka, a special Icelandic rye flatbread.
Because not everyone is capable of downing the orri food, people may also serve roasted lamb at the occasion or even hot dogs or lasagna for the kids.
After dinner at orri feasts abroad, an Icelandic band usually entertains the crowd with songs they recognize from back home and in a mood of nostalgia they dance and sing until the early hours of the morning.
Click here to read more about orrablt and the food served at such occasions.
The current issue of the quarterly magazine Iceland Review includes interviews with fashion photographer Saga Sig and conceptual artist Rr. Also, we take you to Grmsstair Fjllum, that desolate land coveted by a Chinese tycoon, and also explore Icelandic archeological remains. We discuss the Icelandic Church, the flourishing gaming industry, debate the future of Icelands energy resources and interview the president of the Icelandic National League of North America. Subscribe now and receive a free photo book by IRs editor Pll Stefnsson of the Eyjafjallajkull eruptions. Click here to subscribe to the magazine and here to buy a gift subscription.
more
The Catalan artist Antoni Tpies (1923-2012), an exponent of the legendary Parisian Art Brut group, which was founded in 1948 by Andr Breton, Charles Ratton, Henri-Pierre Roche, Jean Dubuffet and Tpies himself, died in February this year at the age of 88. The exhibition Tpies Image, Body, Pathos at Kjarvalsstair the Reykjavk Art Museum includes a small part of the 7,000 works the artist produced throughout his career, dating from 1958 to this year.
more
Icelandic start-up company Redwing designs hand-wired guitar amplifiers, which were inspired by the blackface and brownface American circuits from the 1960s. The amplifiers have been tested by a number of musicians, including blues guitarist Vasti Jackson during the Reykjavk Blues Festival in April 2011.
more
The Spanish artist Santiago Sierra shocks people with his radical and provocative works that challenge the audiences sense of propriety. He has been accused of abusing the miserable situation of unfortunate people by paying them for participating in his works with morally-disputed actions. His current exhibition at Reykjavk Art Museum Hafnarhs will run through April 15.
more