Valdimar Thorlacius│An Island in Ölfus

The title refers to a town in southern Iceland which lies on an active  geothermal area. The town is also the photographer's home town,  so it has a special meaning for him as a subject. 

Hot water wells up from the earth in a constant flow in the middle of the town. It may flow calmly for a while, predictably even, until it gushes forward forceful, loud and unpredictable. 

Hveragerði owes its existence to geothermal heat. A handful of pioneers saw the opportunities this resource presented and thankfully had both the brains and diligence to make something out of them.  The people who live here today may not have the energy in our midst in our everyday thoughts but  it is part of our lives for the better and for worse. The houses are either built close to or on top of rifts in the earth or hot springs. They have been damaged in earthquakes and new hot springs have even found their way through rifts in the rocks to bubble up inside houses.  

In his work, Valdimar Thorlacius explores the town of Hveragerði and its people, among the hot springs, clouds of steam and greenhouses. 

Valdimar Thorlacius graduated from the School of Photography in Reykjavík in 2014. Same year he was awarded a grant from the Magnús Ólafsson Memorial Fund and published a photography book. In 2015 he participated in the group exhibition Warsaw Festival of Art Photography at Galeria Obok ZPAF in Warsaw, Poland and had a solo exhibition in the National Museum of Iceland.  

Valdimar Thor­la­cius│An Is­land in Öl­fus

"An Island in Ölfus" is the title of an exhibition by Valdimar Thorlacius in exhibition space Kubburinn.

Valdimar Thorlacius│An Island in Ölfus