Opaque Shadow, Flags in Icelandic Art

This display commemorates the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Iceland. The event that took place on 17 June 1944, and, with it, the ratification of the National Flag Act, the official recognition of a unifying symbol of hard-won independence after centuries of Danish rule.

Flags are emblems of sovereignty and national identity, raised on both solemn and joyful occasions calling for national pride and patriotism. Over time, some artists have invoked the flag as a proposal or provocation questioning the meaning of national identity.

The artworks shown here tell a part of the history of the Icelandic flag, alongside works by artists who have made works of art based on the flag to make a pointed statement. The exhibition takes its name from a work by Unnar Örn, of a flag (one shown in the gallery and another flying on the pole outside the museum) depicting the Icelandic flag devoid of its color: a blank surface onto which the viewer can imaginatively inscribe their own meanings and values to the flag.