Exhibition | Repetition

The exhibition features photographs by Emilía Sigrún Karlsdóttir, which were her final project in a photography course at the Menntaskólinn á Tröllaskaga in spring 2025.

The concept behind the project is quite personal: she recreates old paintings by her father depicting family and friends. She selected a few pieces from his collection and developed them further.

“Then I chose clothes for the models, but of course it wasn’t possible to use exactly the same clothes and items as when the paintings were made. For example, it wasn’t easy to replicate a painting of my dad holding me as a newborn, so I had to use a doll instead. I arranged the scenes and spent time finding the right poses and expressions to resemble the original as closely as possible. But it’s important that it’s not exactly the same, because that’s not possible when the subject’s appearance has changed over the years.”

Emilía Sigrún is a 24-year-old resident of Kópavogur and is currently completing her exam in the school. She was raised around art, as her father is an artist, and she’s used to having all kinds of people on the walls at home. Since childhood, she has been a model in her father’s works, both in book illustrations and paintings. She’s therefore accustomed to dressing in various costumes and staging scenes. Now, one could say her role has reversed—this time, she is the creator.