We warmly welcome artist Nerime El Ansari to Skaftfells residency. During her six-week residency from October 15 to November 30, El Ansari will work on her project Dreams in Exile culminating in an exhibition in the Skaftfell Gallery.
In Dreams in Exile,?the Egyptian artist Nermine El Ansari explores ways to give?new forms of visual expression?to ideas of?displacement and exile. It looks at the?emotional labyrinth?experienced by?foreigners?living in faraway lands to seek a deeper understanding of isolation and the eternal search for a place?to truly belong.?
The?project is inspired by El Ansari?s personal experiences going through multiple relocations since childhood. Inspiration is also drawn from those asylum seekers?who sought refuge in Iceland, whose stories she has borne?witness to?since 2015,?as an interpreter at both an LGBTQ organization in Reykjavik and at the?government?immigration office. The?asylum seekers?stories echo throughout her?work: the intense rupture brought about by separating from ones homeland, and the memoriesset against a new, unfamiliar landof home: the places, language, scents, sounds, weather, and voices that occupy the mind when longing for home.?The?feeling?of isolation and the complexities of yearning for a place to belong,?serve as a reminder that displacement is a universal human experience that transcends borders.?
Amidst this sea of?loss?and?longing,?dreams emerge as a beacon of hope. Dreams, like ethereal landscapes,?have?no boundaries. They transform into?alternate?realms?that connect the broken fragments of identity, fostering a feeling of unity even in the face of exile.?In?creating?an imaginary scenery crossing geographical and emotional borders, Nermine aims to cultivate understanding and empathy,?reminding us that belonging is a shared human quest.
