White noise is a murmur.

 

​Otherwise, it is difficult to define.

 

​Perhaps we hear it in a sharp wind, or maybe when the radio isn’t tuned to the right frequency. It’s possible to buy devices that emit white noise, they are placed near a sleeping child to help it rest. The sound resembles the familiar hum from the womb. When the human mind isn’t tuned to specific frequencies, we let it wander free. White noise is the resonance of new life, of vulnerability and creation.

 

​The drawings, Verur / Beings, together with the poem Vöggudeildin / The Neonatal Unit, form the coherent artwork Hvít hljóð  / White Noise. Poetry and visual art intersect in this piece through Vöggudeildin by Guðbjörg Guðmundsdóttir, written in summer of 2022 during her stay in the neonatal ward at the University Hospital with her newborn daughter by her side. Kristín Elva created the Verur drawings in response to the emotions evoked by each fragment of the poem. Verur, which are some kind of emotional viruses, root themselves deep within the soul, make themselves at home and refuse to leave. A state that is neither good nor bad, but simply is; a feeling that exists as a fact, without the need for proof.

This artistic exchange between the two creators resulted in Hvít hljóð, which also serves as the conceptual starting point for the exhibition Hvít hljóð og nokkur Ílát / White Noise and some Containers.

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​Næringarríkar Umbúðir / Nutritious Containers is a collection of bas-relief works, molded from single-use plastic packaging, accumulated at home; packaging, that once held healthy, nutrient-rich foods such as salads, chicken, vegetables and fruit. These are items associated with high energetic value, sustaining the subtle, delicate energy that surrounds the poetic artwork in the exhibition.

Single-use packaging is designed to hold organic materials we bring into our homes. Once emptied, it is  thrown away and no longer serves a purpose. By casting these forms in plaster and transforming them into artworks displayed in the gallery, the packaging is given a new role, elevated to a different level of presence, meaning, and energy.

Næringarríkar Umbúðir functions as a kind of sustaining force for the fragile world that surrounds Hvít hljóð, offering support and nourishment to its delicate atmosphere.

 

​​Ílát í sundur / Disassembled Containers forms part of the artist’s continued exploration of themes that also appear in earlier works; the drawings Ílát / Containers. In those works, stillness and the rhythms of everyday life are brought to the foreground through domestic forms inspired by common household objects such as flowerpots, jars, and baskets. The works derive their weight from these forms, which serve as structures that hold and give space to patterns, textures, and colours.

In Ílát í sundur, this previously solid framework is undone and reimagined three-dimensional. The sense of heaviness recedes, giving way to a kind of drifting emotional movement, where attention shifts to fine, airy lines, transparency, and reflection. The surrounding wooden structure functions as a grounded, practical anchor, something that both supports the piece and holds it together.

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​Two printed works were published parallel to the exhibition; the poetry books Hvít hljóð and Sitt lítið.

 

The works in the exhibition Hvít hljlóð og nokkur Ílát were created between 2021 and 2025.

​​Hvít hljóð / White Noise,  2023 - 24

Twelve text-based drawings created with acrylic, watercolours and pencil,  mounted directly on the wall behind plexiglass.

34 × 24 cm

 

​Vera Íhugul / Be Mind, 2021

Drawing on paper in a frame, made with acrylic, watercolors and penci.

35 x 48 cm 

 

​Næringarríkar Umbúðir / Nutritious Containers,  2025

Twenty-two plaster reliefs, 

ranging in size from 6 × 10 × 12 cm to 5 × 15 × 20 cm 

Form a complete wall piece measuring 6 x 80 x 105 cm.                                                                                     

 

One individual wall piece measuring 5 x 15 x 20 cm.                                       

 

Ílát í sundur með gleri / Disassembled Containers with Glass, 2024–25                                                           

Wall mounted sculpture composed of wood, wire, a mirror, and a found glass vessel

55 × 55 × 190 cm.