Exhibition opening: The workshop

A new exhibition at the Reykjavik Museum of Photography features the work of photographer Bára Kristinsdóttir, a look into the lives of two elderly gentlemen who provide nylon-coating services in a workshop on the outskirts of Reykjavik. 

In the past, business thrived at the workplace with its “old style“ handmade manufacturing.

But the business never adopted modern technology, and now the time has come that their work is no longer in demand. Only the owner and one employee are left, and the company is inexorably forced out of business by Chinese mass-production which has taken over the market.

Seen from the outside, the workshop looks ordinary – like any other workplace in an industrial district. But inside it‘s like entering another world. This world, in which the two men live and work , has seen little change since the workshop was founded about 40 years ago. There has been little maintenance, and it is as if time has stood still.

Bára provides us with a candid and fascinating view of a disappearing world. The photographs show us the aesthetic and nostalgic values in old, worn objects, along with old craftsmanship. Her interviews with the owner and storyteller Elías add to the depth of the work and imbue it with human warmth and intimacy. We sense the mood and sorrowful feelings experienced at such a turning point in a man’s life. At the same time, the work sheds light on the consequences of social change, retirement and the vulnerability it can bring.

The exhibition opens at 2 p.m, today on April 23rd. 

 Grófarhús, Tryggvagata 15, 6th floor, | 101 Reykjavík | +354 411-6300