Berglind Rögnvaldsdóttir’s glittery artworks are a feminine fever dream, cast in the light of her native Iceland. But beneath her pleasing pink aesthetic is a powerful story of womanhood and reinvention
Berglind Rögnvaldsdóttir’s cotton-candy hued artworks are unmistakably hers. Still, the Icelandic artist struggles to define her work. “Lately, a lot of people have been saying, ‘Oh, you're such a distinguished style, like if I see an artwork, I know if it's from you or not’. And I'm always a bit curious about it,” she says. “I'm like, I get what you're saying, but... I don't know. To me, it's always come so naturally, so it's difficult to put it in words.”
The 36-year-old mother of three had been living in Oslo for the past eight years, but recently returned to her hometown of Reykjavik, where she finds otherworldly inspiration in the light and landscapes of her region. Still, art opportunities in Norway have led her to commute between the two cities.
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Surrendering. 2022.
Rögnvaldsdóttir started off as a makeup artist, before becoming the manager of a local vintage shop in Iceland. After having her first child, she moved to France for a spell with her then-partner, before settling down in Oslo. At the time, Rögnvaldsdóttir felt as though she was simply following her partner around, rather than forging a path of her own. After having two more children in short succession, she was feeling somewhat lost. “I had three kids in four years and what you go through is, it’s amazing,” she says. “But it’s also a bit traumatic in a way.”
She needed a new direction, so Rögnvaldsdóttir went back to school to study towards a degree in photography and storytelling. Two months into her programme, her teachers suggested that she wasn’t a reportage photographer, but an artist. “I went through a lot of self-reflection and I did a lot of work on myself. And I just decided that I was going to go for it, for what was in my heart,” she says.
I have many female nipples hidden in all of my artworks, it’s a thing I do
Berglind Rögnvaldsdóttir
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Photo: Saga Sig
As a child, Rögnvaldsdóttir gravitated towards Play-Doh, glitter and My Little Pony – childhood obsessions that manifest in her work today. Even Arögnvaldsdóttir’s hair is pink. It’s an aesthetic mirrored by her surroundings, the candy-coloured sunsets of Iceland; the harsh, otherworldly landscapes. “I love the colours here, I love the nature,” she says. “I even love the sounds and smells. I love how crazy it is.”
Rögnvaldsdóttir hasn’t let go of her degree entirely. She still works as a photographer, capturing special moments – in particular, weddings. What’s more, photography, in combination with her Photoshop skills, plays a part in her artwork. She views her work as a way to tell her story, specifically her experiences as a woman. “I know I'm obviously pretty privileged being Icelandic, white and female,” she tells me. “But as a woman, you can’t do anything right, it’s always too much or too little.
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My Scandic Narnia. 2022. Photo: Saga Sig
People often say that I make political art, but I’m not sure if I agree. But maybe being a woman in itself is a political performance piece.” The artist is inclined to make a statement in every piece she creates, even if these statements are sometimes obscured. “I have many female nipples hidden in all of my artworks, it’s a thing I do.”
When asked about the future, Rögnvaldsdóttir begins to speak about finding an audience for her work. Then, a small smile spreads across her face and she says quite simply: “I dream of happiness.”
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Artworks by: Berglind Rögnvaldsdóttir