These graphics were created from works of two old friends of Goddur from Reykjavik Art School in the late seventies, Bjarni H. Thorarinsson and Ómar Stefánsson. Bjarni lives a very separated and private life in Island. The only thing he really does is these mandalas. He uses only pencil to do them and has been doing them constantly since 1988. He starts with a compass and divides the circle into parts – usually 12, but not always. Then he uses a dictionary to randomly find an ending of a word. After that he writes down all the word he can find with the same ending, sometimes he even invents new words. He comes up with a number and starts to write and number these words inside the mandala. The numbers of the words starts do dictate the shapes. He himself does not call them mandalas. He calls them roses. Bjarni is very protective about his original work but sometimes sells them at bars, even for good money, at least lately. Omar lives similar to Bjarni. For about six years ago they came to Goddur, Bjarni with his mandalas and Omar with his sketchbooks and wanted him to fill out and merge their works together. Goddur assembles the work and colors them without their interference. They both are well known local, but Goddur is one of the few that are in direct contact with Bjarni.
This is the result of the collaboration of the three:
P16) One of Ómar’s sketches – the soil for the roses to be planted in.
P17) Bjarni’s Mandala drawing, they always come in the format A4.
P18) Printed versions from an Art Festival in Denmark 2005 called “Lys over Lolland” it is in an old “Dansukker” sugar factory in Saxkjöbing. It is part of a big exhibition of artist who participated in artist base in a fishnet factory in Reykjavik from 2004 -2006 where they were invited to do an exhibition.
