HEATWAVES
The breath of a normal person is usually about 37°C. Yet to breathe and talk is
not the same thing. It is possible to breathe without talking but it is very
difficult to talk without breathing. The breathing is however rarely in rhythm
with the heartbeat. Except once in a while. That is also when everything is
exactly the way it should be. Most of us though, have no control over all this.
Yet Guðrún Benónýsdóttir seems to be doing all this at the same time in the
photograph mounted on one of the walls of Gallery Hlemmur. You can even hear the
rhythm of her voice without actually listening. It is enough to just let your
eyes rest on the photograph. But when we listen closely we find that it is not
Guðrún’s voice resonating in our minds. No more than the position she has chosen
to hide in. This position is undeniably familiar. It is in fact the very same
pose that a French designer made Grace Jones strike back in the day.
We will never forget it.
The colour of their skin is not the same, anymore than any other colour in the
photograph. The only thing that these two ladies have in common is the glow of
their skin. Their matte skin has been lubricated with suntan-oil, and they both
look very hot.
This pose is also reminiscent of the so-called sun-rune often called the
Swastika. But that is another story. And the atmosphere grows hotter with each
step. As soon as you turn around you find the pale and sensual porcelain-neck,
here. It even has freckles.
But usually it is so very simple to adjust the heat inside buildings, just like
the light. Either by opening a window or by turning on the air-condition. But it
is however impossible to control when and how you blush. The chandeliers in the
inner room somehow seem to be that way. It is as if one of them is turned off
but even so a luminous and juicy liquid has started to seep out along the seams.
This chandelier is shy and blushes without having any control over it. The other
one, however, seem to have completely given in. It melts until the floor below
is soaked. Deep inside it has let go and no-longer has anything to fear. It is
here to stay. The effect is obvious. The golden pool swells and ripples with
constant pleasure. These truly are heatwaves.