After Leif (2026)

“After Leif” examines the Leif Eriksson Statue in Reykjavík as a case of historical translation, highlighting its ties to national identity and tourism. One of Iceland’s most prominent depictions of a Viking, the monument was created by American sculptor Alexander S. Calder and unveiled in 1932. It is continuously reproduced through tourism, one of Iceland’s largest economic sectors, promoting the country’s Viking past, although most Icelanders descend from farming communities. This repetition reinforces the heroic, hypermasculine Viking image.

This approach builds on Annette Kolodny’s concept of the “plastic Viking,” introduced in “In Search of First Contact.” Kolodny describes how Viking imagery has been reshaped to serve different cultural and political purposes. Although her analysis focuses on the nineteenth century, the concept applies today, with contemporary Viking imagery tied to conservative masculinity.

“After Leif” begins with the only known textual description of Leif’s appearance in the Icelandic sagas, juxtaposing it with the statue and a photo of a souvenir replica. The souvenir, a product of a tourism-driven economy functions as a speculative device: it is wrapped, multiplied into an army, destroyed, yet documented and therefore “immortalized.” The statue is treated not as a fixed object but as an unstable figure whose meanings shift.

The Viking figure promoted through tourism and national imagery is closely tied to ideals of strength, conquest, and dominance. While Iceland is often praised for gender equality, surveys show that roughly one in four women report rape or sexual violence. The conservative ideals of masculinity embedded in Viking imagery remain present in contemporary Iceland.

In its final gesture, the work returns to a photograph taken moments before the statue’s unveiling in 1932, reproduced in a small leaflet rather than exhibited. The scene is reimagined: the crowd disappears, leaving only the cocoon-like form of the covered statue on its pedestal. The figure revealed could be a different Leif, or perhaps no Viking at all.