Life isn´t just a game  – it´s also a bed of roses...

Reykjavík Museum of Photography

In an exhibition text written by Goddur it says: 

“This is an exhibition of Icelandic image photography from the 1960s. Youth culture is coming into existence following the rock’n’roll revolution. Fresh breezes are blowing. The Icelandic nation has migrated from the countryside to the city. They still miss the rural past, however, and sing old songs about the charms of life on the farm. But they are looking to the future, with the focus on Icelandic industry and, along with it, lifestyle. That is the origin of these images. The word hönnun (design) is brand-new in Icelandic, fresh, pristine. A new generation has arisen, with different attitudes. They can’t sit as their parents do: they need a different kind of chair. They are teenagers around 1960. They have no memory of the horrors of World War II. They have spring their hearts, and high hopes about travel to the moon. Dogs, chimps, and now men have been sent into space. The Beatles have sent Elvis packing, and skirts are short. Liquorice ties, nylon shirts, pointed shoes. Finned American eight-cylinder automobiles prowling around town. Khrushchev has slammed his shoe down on the lectern at the United Nations. The icons of those days, Sæmi Rock, Ómar Ragnarsson and Ellý Vilhjálms, sing songs of the open road. And it seemed that we could go anywhere we wanted.  Then there was a recession. Icelanders emigrated to Canada and Sweden in search of work. The hippies became angry, and protests broke out. But that’s another story. This story is about optimism, and happy days.”


The exhibition is the programme of Reykjavík Arts Festival 2009 


Life is­n´t just a game – it´s also a bed of roses...

Life isn´t just a game – it´s also a bed of roses...