brynjar siguroarson uses icelandic roping methods for furniture

brynjar siguroarson uses icelandic roping methods for furniture
above: high shelf
image © fabrice gousset / courtesy galerie kreo

brynjar sigurðarson: the silent village collection
galerie kreo, paris
now through february 8th, 2014

cultural identity and tradition are at the root of icelandic designer brynjar sigurðarson‘s ‘silent village collection’, a furniture series which aesthetically narrates the age-old techniques of local craftsman. citing a strong relationship to his home country, sigurðarson feeds on the influences deeply embedded in the nordic lifestyle, calling upon the methods and materials of resident fisherman in the materialization of his interior pieces. as a university student, the young designer met a shark hunter in the village of vopnafjörður, who educated him in remarkable roping systems using netting needles and nylon string. ‘when I first discovered these roping methods at the fisherman’s workshop, it felt like I had connected with a hidden icelandic craft.’ sigurðarson says of the encounter. ‘even though I had no specific use in mind, when I started experimenting with these modest ropes, I found that they had endless possibilities for aesthetic use.’

high shelf (details)
images © fabrice gousset / courtesy galerie kreo

with these hand-rendered rituals in mind, sigurðarson has knit, braided, bent, and strung various ropes and fishing tools to each of the wooden items in his personal atelier. intricate knots tie legs of a library table in place, while tufts of fitted feathers and fur feature as symbols of the region’s living world. the artisanal methods utilized in this context connect, both culturally and privately, to the landscape of iceland, reflecting back a poetic picture of the mediums and mechanisms fundamental to the populace there.

dining table
image © fabrice gousset / courtesy galerie kreo