Maíganga / A walk in May

Printed in bbk kulturwerk 2019 in edition of 7.

Artist book on the performance – sound work A walk in May, performed by the Nýló choir, 2018. The book contains four monochromes and the script, or score, of the performance. A framed copy of all four colors was exhibited at the Living Art Museum Light Bazaar in December 2019.

Photographs and layout of script: Leifur Wilberg Orrason

The book contains all the meeting logs of the Experimental Society in Reykjavik – a scientific society active between 1905-19011 focusing on spiritualism and centred on the physical medium Indriði Indriðason. The meeting logs which had been lost or misplaced were discovered by the artist after a few months search. They describe all the society´s events and experiments.

The work is a documentation of 3 month performative act of transcription of the manuscripts into digital form without changing a single thing, all published in the book. Due to the undeveloped Icelandic grammar the text is fluid and has a great sense of texture and character. A great number of people were registered as guests in the logs at these events which makes the document a significant testimony to a certain culture and atmosphere of the time

The work marks the end of a project that started with a solo show at the Reykjavik Art Museum in 2007 called Transcription.

The book is threefold: A transcription of the manuscripts; a chapter of dense black pages and three texts by scholars on the subject by: Benedikt Hjartarson, professor of literature; dr. Erlendur Haraldsson parapsychologist and dr. Birna Bjaradóttir, professor of literature. Layout and graphic design: Steinunn Marta Önnudóttir.