12
The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 15 — 2015
Poetry Politics | Redemption | Bright?
Running Up Those Slippery Steps Bjarni Bernharður’s journey through the darkness— and back to the light Words by Davíð Roach Gunnarson Photos by Hörður Sveinsson
Poet and painter Bjarni Bernharður Bjarnason is a unique presence in the Icelandic art world. He has endured a life of hardship, marked by poverty, negligent parents, acid, insanity, domestic violence, murder and incarceration. He is also a prolific artist. Since his mid-twenties, Bjarni has suffered from schizophrenia, which for a long period shaped his life. His mental illness eventually led Bjarni to nine years in a criminal psychiatric ward after killing a man, in what became one of the most talked-about criminal cases in Iceland’s history. Having fallen through the wide cracks of our society’s grid, Bjarni made his way back from the margins with determination and vigour. Through poetry, painting and a never-ending search for the self, he has carved out a place for himself. Now, Bjarni steps forth with an account of his life journey, detailing his venture from innocent youth into the darkness of adult life and beyond in a new book, ‘Hin hálu þrep’ (“Those Slippery Steps”), which had just gone to print on the very day I rang his doorbell for an interview.
No reason Bjarni Bernharður resides in a basement in a beautiful apartment complex on Hverfisgata, coincidentally known as Bjarnaborgin. His habitat is a small but cosy bohemian bachelor pad, chock-full of books and his vibrantly colured paintings. He shows me around his studio, where he keeps endless racks of CDs, largely consisting of 60s and 70s rock, but also featuring a lot of jazz and classical music. “I listen to music a lot to get riled up before I get to painting or writing,” he tells me, “but not so much while I’m working.” He also has a big-screen TV, where he watches movies to help him unwind and clear his head. They come from all over the globe, both new and old. “I have this 1931 adaptation of 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' I’ve been waiting to watch,” he notes. He offers me coffee and a seat. After
reassuring myself that my recorder is properly functioning, I ask why he chose to tell his story at this particular time. “No exact reason,” he muses. “This book has been on my desktop for quite some time. I’ve been working on it since 2010, with pauses. For the last year I’ve been putting extra work into finishing it.” Bjarni notes that he did release another autobiographical tome a few years back, ‘Kaleikurinn’ (“The Grail”), which forms the basis for this book. He tells me that he wasn’t yet ready to draw conclusions from his life story back then, as he does in the last chapter of the new one.
Building your own box “The first part of the book is a realistic description of my life,” explains Bjarni, “mostly in a linear time frame. But I wasn’t sure how to handle the rest. I
decided to scrutinize my inner self, let my mind flow over time and space, circling around my centre. That was the basis for the last part, where the topic at hand was myself. ‘Who are you, Bjarni Bernharður?’ I asked myself. When asking a question like that, you probably won’t get a clear answer, but it forces you to think. And it got me writing.” He adds that the book is about topics that have been discussed in the media recently, and could perhaps help people people who find themselves on the wrong side of the tracks. “The book is about matters of great importance in the here and now,” he states. “Mental illness; a child that falls through the cracks of society; mind-expanding drugs, domestic violence, manslaughter, nine years in a criminal psychiatric ward. He who lands outside the box doesn’t need to wind up in the wasteland. He is not without his territory. There can be a box
HALLGRÍMUR HELGASON Acrylic on Darkness l
Outside your house, in the middle of the night, while you´re sleeping September 11 - October 10 2015
TVEIR HRAFNAR listhús, Art Gallery
outside the box—you just have to build it yourself. We might not choose our place in the system, our family or society. Most people accept where they’re placed. But, those who wind up in the wasteland… they find that they’re not welcome in society. My story could help those who are pushed outside the box to find a way back.”
The village idiot Bjarni Bernharður was born in the south of Iceland, in the small town of Selfoss, a product of an unhappy marriage, the third of eleven siblings. His parents were working class, and providing for eleven children wasn’t easy. There wasn’t much love to go around in the household, Bjarni tells me, and he had a
Continues Over...
TVEIR HRAFNAR listhús, Art Gallery
offers a range of artwork by contemporary Icelandic artists represented by the gallery, selected works by acclaimed artists and past Icelandic masters. Represented artists: GUÐBJÖRG LIND JÓNSDÓTTIR HALLGRÍMUR HELGASON HÚBERT NÓI JÓHANNESSON JÓN ÓSKAR ÓLI G. JÓHANNSSON STEINUNN THÓRARINSDÓTTIR Also works by: GEORG ÓSKAR HADDA FJÓLA REYKDAL HULDA HÁKON NÍNA TRYGGVADÓTTIR KRISTJÁN DAVÍÐSSON – among others
Baldursgata 12 101 Reykjavík (at the corner of Baldursgata and Nönnugata, facing Þrír Frakkar Restaurant) Phone: +354 552 8822 +354 863 6860 +354 863 6885 art@tveirhrafnar.is www.tveirhrafnar.is Opening hours: Thu-Fri 12pm - 5pm, Sat 1pm - 4pm and by appointment +354 863 6860