Medúsa

Exhibition in the National Library

30.01.2020 - 20.04.2020

The Icelandic surrealist group Medúsa was founded by several students at the Fjölbrautaskólinn in Breiðholt (Breiðholt Community College) at the end of 1979 and the group's policy statement was published in the school magazine Grjúpán in the beginning of 1980.

The group was active for almost seven years and at that time Medúsa published 30 editions, most of them poetry books. short stories, magazines, postcards, posters and brochures. The group performed poetry readings, concerts and performances and ran a gallery for two years, Skruggubúð at Suðurgata 3a in Reykjavík. There, Medúsa organized international surrealist exhibitions and collaborated with surrealists in the Nordic countries in the publication of the magazines Dunganon Again and Dunganon´s Return. In addition, Medusa collaborated with surrealists in France and Canada, and the works of group members appeared in magazines published in France, the United Kingdom, Sweden and elsewhere. Most of the releases are by Sjón, Þór Eldon, Einar Melax, Matthías Magnússon, Ólafur Engilbertsson and Jóhamar, but releases also include Kristinn Sæmundsson, Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Margrét Örnólfsdóttir, Alfreð Flóki, Tony Pusey and more.

The last edition of Medúsa was published in 1986, the same year that Smekkleysa (Bad Taste) was founded, but many those that were connected to Medúsa were the founders of Smekkleysa. Most of the editions of Medúsa are now preserved in the National Library, and posters and postcards are also part of the material that Medúsa´s group members now hand over to the National Library.

The exhibition was open until April 20, 2020.

Exhibition catalog

Lecture in Icelandic - Benedikt Hjartarson

Exhibitions

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Outsiders? (closed)

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Bibliotek Nordica

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