Eva Brá Barkardóttir is an Icelandic artist based in London. With a background in fashion design, an obsession with textiles and drapery is central to her art practice, which explores feminine identity through nature and surrealism.
Eva's approach to making work often begins with a material spark and evolves through connected research and experiments. Failure, in the most positive meaning of the word, plays a big part in the creative process.
Her practice tries to address the state of humanity and the dire situation of the natural world due to consumerist greed and our increasingly synthetic way of life, though still maintaining an air of naive optimism and hopefulness, often looking to nature and the plant world for coping strategies.
Lately she has been researching mycelium and its relationship to cyclical time, witches and the interconnectivity of nature. "I have been delving into my Nordic heritage, discovering the Völuspá poem, the origin story from Norse mythology, which is a meditation on the constant death and rebirth of the world, told by the Witches of Destiny, who use material recourses to steer the destinies of men. I plan to explore further how recourses are used to control populations and govern fates, using found or unwanted materials as a starting point."
Education
SEPTEMBER 2019 - 2020
MA FINE ART, CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ARTS
2018 - 2019
FINE ART GRADUATE DIPLOMA, CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ARTS
2013 - 2015
MA ART EDUCATION, ICELAND ACADEMY OF THE ARTS
JANUARY 2015 - JUNE 2015
ERASMUS EXCHANGE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC, JAN EVANGELISTA PURKYNĚ UNIVERSITY
2008 - 2012
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN FASHION DESIGN, ICELAND ACADEMY OF THE ARTS
Selected Exhibitions and projects
2022 - Elephant Arcade, a pop up exhibition with 6 Chelsea alumni, kindly supported by Meanwhile Space
2022 - True House, works on show in True Global's headquarters in Buckingham Gate
2021 - Revenge of the Real at Rupture Exhibit and Kate Howe Studios. Curated by Lizzie Cardoso, Julia White and Stephen Nulty
2021 - Chelsea College of Arts degree show for 19/20 and 20/21 MA Fine Art students
2021 - Language - Art Project 2020-1 UAL
2021 - MOSTYN Gallery / My Online Bedroom in collaboration with Queer Direct
2020 - Late at Tate - Short film shown in a set of one-minute film compilation by about 70 artist from Chelsea College
2020 - The Waiting Residency - A conceptual artist residency founded by artist Claudia Sambo
2020 - UAL Graduate Showcase - An online platform showcasing the works of UAL graduates
2020 - Portportlandland September Issue - Featured in issue 196 Open Borders
2020 - The Shop Front 285 group exhibition with emerging artists from CCW and RCA
2020 - Chelsea Arts Club exhibition with current recipients of the CAC trust.
2020 - Exhibition collaboration with Holly English in SVA gallery Stroud, (Now imagine) you are old and a friend is brushing your hair
2020 - Charity auction for the Chelsea Arts Club Trust at Chelsea Arts Club, painting donated for the charity auction
2020 - Group exhibition, Hanover Space - We need to talk about it
2020 - Launched a spare room gallery in my flat in south London with two other artists, Hanover Space (instagram: @hanover_space)
2020 - Group exhibition, 10 MAFA students, Cookhouse gallery - Mapping
2019 - Group exhibition for the end of MAFA first term, Chelsea College of Arts - Unit 1
2019 - Part of a 6 person curatorial team for the end of first term exhibition, Chelsea College of Arts
2019 - Group exhibition, 10 MAFA students, Cookhouse gallery - Side Bar
2019 - Group exhibition, MAFA students, Chelsea College of Arts - In transition
2019 - Graduation show from Graduate Diploma in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts - Final Art
2019 - Group exhibition in Safehouse gallery - Safehouse 1 and 2
Awards
2019 - Material and research award from the Chelsea Arts Club Trust
http://www.chelseaartsclubtrust.org/eva-bra-barkardottir/
Publications
2020 - The Norn issue - A body of critical articles looking into spiritual botany, sustainability in the arts, witchcraft and feminism
2020 - Portportlandland September Issue - Featured in issue 196 Open Borders
MAFAzine - an online zine publication by MA Fine Art students from Chelsea College of Arts