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| Ouroboros sweater by Agata Mickiewicz. Photo by _in conversation with_ |
A few weeks ago, I visited the exhibition Cozy Catastrophe with drawings by Arnar Ásgeirsson and fashion by Agata Mickiewicz, curated by Annabelle von Girsewald and Katharina Wendler. I had seen Annabelle von Girsewald's curating before and remembered it had a beautiful aesthetics and intelligence to it. I also got to know Katharina Wendler when she was the director of the Icelandic art space Safn in Berlin. Now Katharina Wendler has started an exhibition series "__in conversation with__ " that brings together people through conversation. This is how a dialogue between curator Annabelle von Girsewald, artist Arnar Ásgeirsson and fashion designer Agata Mickiewicz came about.
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| Drawings by Arnar Ásgeirsson. Photo by _in conversation with_ |
So, with the knowledge that the combination of Annabelle von Girsewald + Katharina Wendler must lead to quality, I made an extra effort to visit Cozy Catastrophe on its last opening day. I had been trying to see it before but couldn't find its location at Haus 1, Waterloo Ufer. Haus 1 is a former public toilet house turned into an art space, right there at the train station Hallesches Tor but somehow hard to spot next to the water. While I was there just before closing hour, Arnar Ágeirsson came in with a Gemüsekebab for the hungry Annabelle. I like it when artists feed their curators. Unfortunately for me, it was the only day of the exhibition week he wasn't wearing his Ouroboros Tracksuit. The tracksuit is designed by Agata Mickiewicz who was inspired by Ágeirsson's drawings to do so. In the beautiful little white space of Haus 1 the black and white drawings of snakes and other intertwining and balancing forces were lined up on the wall.
The exhibition was accompanied, of course, by a conversation between Annabelle von Girsewald, Arnar Ásgeirsson and Agata Mickiewicz. I liked how Ásgeirsson wasn't so much inspired by mythology for his drawings but rather by, as he calls it, "watered-down culture, like from Irish pubs, sports club logos or tribal tattoos seen at the swimming pool." A very island-like way of looking at things (being surrounded by water...), so I thought.
In the conversation Ásgeirsson also talks about an Icelandic weather condition called lœgd which makes the wind blow counterclockwise in the Northern hemisphere - its instability also affecting the mood of the population. Ágeirsson's grandfather watched the barometer whenever the weather was acting strange - "There is a low coming" - and to Ágeirsson his drawings function a bit like that barometer - attempting to measure the mood.
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| Exhibition view. Photo by _in conversation with_ |
Agata Mickiewicz choose the Ásgeirsson's Ouroboros drawing for a fashion outfit that can now be ordered here. The Ouroboros is a snake biting its own tail, symbolising infinity and wholeness. "Fashion can be healing when you feel good while wearing clothes that lift your identity and confidence," says Agata Michiewicz in the conversation. I believe her, so watch out for me in 2020, looking and feeling fabulous in my Ouroboros tracksuit. What about you?