{"id":10874,"date":"2018-11-20T11:35:48","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T11:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skaftfell.is\/exhibition\/natures-values\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T15:10:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T15:10:43","slug":"natures-values","status":"publish","type":"exhibition","link":"https:\/\/skaftfell.is\/is\/exhibition\/natures-values\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature’s Values"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iceland\u2019s economy is becoming more and more dependent on tourism, a growing industry that offers the country\u2019s natural wonders as attractions to be consumed. In this context it seems hard to see these places and phenomena as \u201cpure nature\u201d any longer. Business thinking has creeped into the experiencing of natural wonders, and their locations suffer due to increased visitor numbers and lack of conservatory measures or funding. This ambivalence between the exploitation and the protection of a nature that is regarded as natural resource or \u201casset\u201d is currently highlighted by the rapid developments in the tourism sector, but it also has many interesting parallels in other parts of the economy that can be traced through Iceland\u2019s history and mentality. In Nature’s values<\/em> Philipp Valenta shows two series of works relating to this theme, S\u00edldar\u00e6vint\u00fdri <\/em>and Herbarium<\/em>.<\/p>\n

S\u00edldar\u00e6vint\u00fdri<\/em> relates to Iceland\u2019s so-called herring-adventure, the herring-boom that occurred between 1867 and 1968 in the North and East of the country. Valenta\u2019s herrings are made out of aluminium \u2013 <\/span>the material of the new, booming industry in Iceland. The work points towards old and new, and apparently recurring, patterns in the use and exploitation of natural resources.<\/p>\n

For Herbarium<\/em>, Valenta collected old and current banknotes of various countries and \u201cdissected\u201d their depicted flowers, creating a very specific kind of currency herbarium. Many banknotes worldwide show very detailed illustrations of the countries\u2019 indigenous flora, for example blossoms that are representative of the region or climatic zone. In the German language the term Bl\u00fcten (blossoms) is used to describe counterfeit banknotes. For Valenta this linguistic connection underlines the artificial nature of money, represented by this particular collection of fake flowers.<\/p>\n

Herbarium flowers:\u00a0100 Cordoba, Nicaragua;\u00a05 Sen, Japan;\u00a010 Rupees, Sri Lanka;\u00a01 Ringgit, Malaysia;\u00a05 Ringgit, Malaysia;\u00a010 Ringgit, Malaysia;\u00a050 Cents, Sierra Leone;\u00a010000 Kr\u00f3na, Iceland.<\/p>\n

\"Philipp

Philipp Valenta. Herbarium. Ongoing series.<\/p><\/div>\n

Philipp Valenta<\/a><\/strong> was born 1987 in Hattingen, Germany. He graduated in Fine Art from Bauhaus-University Weimar and the Academy of Fine Arts M\u00fcnster, and\u00a0<\/span>in Metalsmithing and Jewelry\u00a0from the University of Applied Sciences Hildesheim. Currently he is master student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Braunschweig.\u00a0Valenta works mostly conceptually in a variety of media, ranging from drawing and printmaking to installation, video and performance art. His topics mostly revolve around financial and economic values, in a general way and\u00a0in relation\u00a0to problems and questions that are specific to<\/span> the art market and to <\/span>being an artist.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>His works have been\u00a0shown in Germany and\u00a0abroad, and he has\u00a0received several\u00a0prizes and grants. A residency grant from Goethe Institut Denmark has now brought him to Skaftfell and to\u00a0Sey\u00f0isfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Philipp Valenta’s work is part of many museum collections, due to his conceptual project\u00a0<\/span>Being A Successful Artist<\/em>.\u00a0It consists of\u00a0gifting drawings\u00a0with only a red dot on them to art institutions and collections. While the red dot is\u00a0a signifier of a sold work and therefore suggests commercial success, the question of how to define success in general remains open. By gifting his way into collections worldwide, Valenta circumvents usual processes in the art market to gradually increase his own and his works’ significance. The Skaftfell Center for Visual Art is with this exhibition now also in possession of a drawing from the series\u00a0Being A Successful Artist<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Philipp

Philipp Valenta. Being a Successful Artist. Ongoing series.<\/p><\/div>\n

Philipp Valenta’s residency at Skaftfell is supported by Goethe Institut Denmark.<\/p>\n

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