The Seasons: Karl Ómarsson
Karl Ómarsson quietly began to speak. In Iceland, coffee is the first drink served to guests at home, integral to hospitality and more familiar to men. When he first performed on the streets of Iceland, he recalled his time working at a construction site where workers drank coffee from plastic bottles or handmade cups. For his piece, 《We’re both imagining things》(2009), he used this memory to convey that, regardless of social status, we all imagine small moments or futures. He shared this through a simple act: pouring coffee into cups he made from cut plastic bottles or empty cans and offering it to others. This act was also linked to identity. Whether artist, bus driver, or labourer, coffee tastes the same, whether in a café mug, paper cup, or recycled can.
When Karl arrived in Korea in 2010, coffee culture was centered on cafés and strongly trend-driven. Coffee was clearly divided by taste and style, and prices were higher than Iceland. This was a kind of culture shock for him. He paused, sipped his coffee, and quietly remarked that performing 《We’re both imagining things》 in Korea would carry its own meaning.
His greatest challenge in the exhibition was unexpectedly, his earliest work,《Roots》(2005). It was his first performance unseen before. For a while, he received misdelivered letters that prompted him to visit the address written on one of the envelopes. It was late winter. The weather was cold, and a storm was coming. Equipped with simple tools, a camera, and the misdelivered letters, he traveled to a new place. Spending a night in a guesthouse as a stranger, he embraced the experience. He had reached the place with a purpose, but the purpose had not originally been his. The letters simply gave him a reason for a short trip. The cold air at the train station, the storm, the guesthouse, and the meeting with strangers all became part of an experience that began from a single thought. This spontaneous journey, captured by unplanned notes and photos, became the foundation of his performance art.
Unlike his earlier spontaneous works, 《Yellow》(2013) was conceived long before its realisation. He first envisioned it in summer 2008, before the coffee performance. Around that time, he faced both the birth of a new family member and the death of his grandfather. Visiting his grandfather in hospital, he photographed the sunlight entering the pale room. He remembered how life and death crossed in that moment. The hospital’s colourless furniture contrasted with the warm orange curtain. This inspired 《Yellow》; its wheels reflect the mobility of hospital furniture. Everyday details like coffee cups or letters, seem to become materials for his work. When asked why the piece was called 《Yellow》 instead of orange, he answered simply that sunlight is closer to yellow. In summer, Iceland has the midnight sun. He explained that the faint light of the midnight sun can look cold and grey. Perhaps the orange curtain symbolised the sunlight he sought. As he spoke, he sketched the earth, sun, and atmosphere to illustrate the midnight sun.
He finished drawing and handed over the paper. The earth resembled a round piece of paper on a windowsill from his 2009 German series 《Duration of My Chemical》. Created during a brief three-week residency, he had to leave suddenly, with limited materials. In a small rural town, he could only find paper and a little watercolour paint. He chose a colour called Flesh Pink and painted the paper. As it dried, the thin paper wrinkled and changed shape slightly. The colour became almost transparent. He cut it into a circle spontaneously. He said he often moves impulsively, placing the painted circles around the old castle where he stayed, capturing their placement in photographs. He welcomed unexpected possibilities into his work.
A person’s life and work move through cycles of ending and beginning, like the changing seasons. From 2005, when he stayed in the Netherlands, to his recent works in 2013, Karl Ómarsson has passed through his own seasons. This year, a new season begins; time will reveal which one he enters.