Jovanna Tosello July 2008

I came to SIM with a background in experimental film, photography, and animation. The purpose of my stay was to explore Icelandic culture and language and integrate these elements into a culminating film project for the end of the residency.

WEEK 1: I lived in room 5 on Seljavegur and shared an extra large studio with Julia, another July resident. My room was tiny and cosy. My favorite part of the room were these two funny diagonal windows that opened out into the roof.

With the residency so close to downtown, I walked to all the museums to get some ideas. Some of my favorite exhibits were Listasafn Íslands, the Einar Jonsson museum, and Hafnarhús.

Listasafn Islands:

Hafnarhús:

The Einar Jonsson Museum:

"Birth of Psyche" - Einar Jonsson

"Spark" - Einar Jonsson

These sculpture were made by Einar Jonsson, my, hands down, favorite Icelandic artist. My visit to his museum was so pleasureful, I later wrote an article about it for Iceland Review.

I would recommend future participants to check these museums out during their stay. I found them to be inspiring and jump started my artistic juices.

Standing on my bed, I could then stick my head out of the window. The image above is a 180 degree collage of what I could see of the city. This spectacularly beautiful view became the subject for my first project with SIM. I took my newly cut silhouette of Reykjavik and turned it into a 360 view of Reykjavik lantern.

Week 2: Taking a week to explore Reykjavik, I proceeded to start on real work. I wrote two articles for Iceland Review. My first article was on the cultural differences between Iceland and America in regards to nudity and the second one was on vegetarianism in Iceland. Along with a short series of small paintings using Icelandic nature and Reykjavik harbor as landscapes.

Week 3: I spent a few days traveling around Iceland. Taking some time to brainstorm ideas for the final project, I traveled up the northern side. Stopping at Thingvellir, Reykholt, Langjokull, Buthardalur, Borganes, and Akranes. The second weekend went along side the southern belly stopping at Selfoss, Hvolsvollur, Vik, Haifoss and Skogafoss. These are some of the photographs I took along the way:

As for animation work:

This short animation test was to be an idea for the final project. As much as I liked it, I didn't use it in the final film.

Á íslensku is short film I completed using drawn storyboards and Icelandic subtitles. It was completed as a culmination of my intense study of the Icelandic language and my experiences living in Reykjavik with SIM. A Islensku was presented for the July Gallery Show at the SIM house on Hafnastræti.

Film Stills

Special thanks to Nithikul, Corey, and Sonja. For all the wonderful work and great attitudes, I was very happy to share my experiences with you.

www.jovannatosello.com