Scandinavian Aggression

Few artists and designers have imbued their work so consistently and thoroughly with the iconography, tales, and lessons of Norse mythology as Haukur Halldórsson. A native Icelander, Halldórsson was one of the founding members of the island nation’s Ásatrú revival in the 1970s. He’s also been inspired by Celtic mythology and has studied artistic practices found in places as distant from his homeland as China and the Navajo Nation in the southwestern U.S. Consequently, over the course of his artistic career, he has worked in a variety of mediums ranging from illustrations to sculptures to monumental public art projects. Probably the best known of his works is The Arctic Henge, pictured at the top of this page, which is located in the northeastern Icelandic town of Raufarhöfn. The Arctic Henge is a large sundial aligned to the movements of the celestial bodies above, containing allusions to Völuspá (particularly the dwarves), and is reminiscent of Stonehenge.

Some other examples of Halldórsson’s art include his excellent posters of the Norse gods and goddesses:

This is just a small sampling, because he’s also created posters of Aegir, Idun, and Loki, as well as posters of the primordial cow and Yggdrasil itself. All of these posters can be viewed and purchased on his website here.

And on the topic of Yggdrasil, this post would be seriously amiss if it didn’t mention Halldórsson’s Yggdrasil Norse Divination Cards. Created in collaboration with his daughter, Gunnhildur Hauksdóttir, the deck contains 81 cards, each featuring a unique illustration of a Norse deity (or other divine being, because giants and dwarves are also included) and a paperback guidebook that provides background information on the mythology as well as general guidance on how to use the cards. I think we can likely all agree they’re pretty slick:

But let us not forget that Halldórsson also creates sculptures. Below is Frey’s foldable boat, Skydbladnir (on exhibit in Denmark), and Thor and His Goats (public art in Iceland).

And lastly, why not an image of the artist himself with one of his creations? This is him, standing in front of a mural he painted in Tønder, Denmark, where he now lives and maintains his studio.