One of Reykjavík's most recent public artworks is scheduled for a complete overhaul, after having been destroyed by the unforgiving Icelandic weather.
Commemorating the 1986 summit
In 2015 the City of Berlin gave Reykjavík a piece of the Berlin wall to commemorate the 1986 summit between the US president Ronald Reagan and the premiere of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. The slab was placed in front of Höfði house where the two world leaders met.
Read more: A slab of the Berlin Wall has arrived in Iceland
The gift of the piece of the wall came through the Berlin Art gallery Neu West Berlin, and was painted with a graffiti piece by a German street artist, Jakob Watner. While the slab of concrete had been a part of the original Berlin Wall, the street art had been painted only recently. However, once the slab had been installed in Reykjavík it quickly became apparent that the artist had not factored in Icelandic weather conditions. Just two years after the slab had been put up the wind and weather had stripped most of the graffiti off.
Re-painted rather than repaired
The head of art conservation at the Reykjavík Art Museum, which maintains all public artworks in Reykjavík, told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that it would have been impossible to restore the original graffiti work. Instead the slab was stripped clean so that a primer could be applied before the artist re-paints his work on the slab.
After re-painting the work the slab will be covered with a thick layer of protective varnish to ensure that the artwork will withstand the elements better. Hopefully we won't need extensive restoration as soon, he concluded.
The re-painted and restored slab of the Berlin Wall should be on display later this summer.
One of Reykjavík's most recent public artworks is scheduled for a complete overhaul, after having been destroyed by the unforgiving Icelandic weather.
Commemorating the 1986 summit
In 2015 the City of Berlin gave Reykjavík a piece of the Berlin wall to commemorate the 1986 summit between the US president Ronald Reagan and the premiere of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. The slab was placed in front of Höfði house where the two world leaders met.
Read more: A slab of the Berlin Wall has arrived in Iceland
The gift of the piece of the wall came through the Berlin Art gallery Neu West Berlin, and was painted with a graffiti piece by a German street artist, Jakob Watner. While the slab of concrete had been a part of the original Berlin Wall, the street art had been painted only recently. However, once the slab had been installed in Reykjavík it quickly became apparent that the artist had not factored in Icelandic weather conditions. Just two years after the slab had been put up the wind and weather had stripped most of the graffiti off.
Re-painted rather than repaired
The head of art conservation at the Reykjavík Art Museum, which maintains all public artworks in Reykjavík, told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that it would have been impossible to restore the original graffiti work. Instead the slab was stripped clean so that a primer could be applied before the artist re-paints his work on the slab.
After re-painting the work the slab will be covered with a thick layer of protective varnish to ensure that the artwork will withstand the elements better. Hopefully we won't need extensive restoration as soon, he concluded.
The re-painted and restored slab of the Berlin Wall should be on display later this summer.
