Out of Controll in Venice

The work was Iceland’s contribution to the 57th Biennale della Arte in Venice, 2017

Out of Controll in Venice consisted of 4 parts:

• The Espressobar

• The Music

• The Social Media

• The Merchandise

Guests could either only see one part or all of them.

Some saw only the social media videos that were released gradually every week, 10 weeks leading up to the opening. Others might have received a T-shirt or the perfume or only heard the music. It didn’t matter, all parts were equally important as they build the world of Ugh & Boogar.

The Espressobar

The Espressobar was located in the Icelandic Pavilion on the island Giudecca. It consisted of two large wooden wooden structures that formed the heads of two trolls; Ugh & Boogar.

Upon entering the pavilion, visitors were met with this espresso bar where they could get cheap coffee and take it with them into the space.

With coffee in hand, curious guests could then wander into the pavilion, where they encountered the speaking heads of Ugh & Boogar.

Two video projectors brought the faces of the trolls to life. Animations of the two faces were projected onto the two faces built out of papier-maché.

One troll would ask a question and the other would answer. And regularly there were ad-breaks for coffee, to help selling more espressos at the front. The trolls faces constantly changed and morphed into what they were talking about.

They audience, either sat between them or inside their heads, could watch the trolls change as their conversations continued

Inside the two heads were tables and chairs on the 3 floors. People could sit there and look at the two trolls talking.

Small holes on the walls enabled them to see the faces of the other troll, opposite in the hall.

The trolls were talking about how they were pretending to be artworks, but that they were actually consuming all the visitors while the visitors thought they were consuming coffee and art.

Why trolls?

These trolls, Ugh & Boogar are at the epicentre of this Universe and are typical of Egill Sæbjörnsson’s world making that has been part of his practice since the 1990’s.

The trolls came to Egill Sæbjörnsson as kitch figures in the airport in Olso in 2008, rather than some traditional folk lore from his home country.

Why an espresso bar?

Well, ever since Egill Sæbjörnsson’s graduating piece from Art School in 1997, he has often integrated a “comforting, welcoming situation” for the visitors of his exhibitions offering coffee or tea and a comfortable seating, often in a sofa or on benches. The argument has been; “why should visiting art exhibitions feel almost punishing, standing on hard concrete floors looking at conceptual works on white walls? Shouldn’t art be about being inspired and encouraged to conversation with ourselves or others?”

Music & Merchandise

At the espresso bar in the front, visitors could acquire things that make up the Universe of Ugh & Boogar:

Out of Controll in Venice: A Vinyl in a double sleeve with music composed by Egill Sæbjörnsson (in collaboration with Ugh & Boogar) specially for the pavilion.

When Egill met the Trolls and Took Them To Venice; a book that tells the story of how Egill and the trolls met and how they ended up going to exhibit at the Venice Biennale.

Out of Controll T-shirt; a one size fit all T-shirt with the Out of Controll logo

Out of Controll Tote bag; with drawings of Ugh & Boogar on each side

Out of Controll clothing line; A collaboration with the Reykjavik based label Eygló. The clothing line consisted of various pieces variating from dresses to jewelries.

Out of Controll perfume; a collaboration with Perfumeur Star Geza Schön of the famous Exentric Molecules series.

Troll-kacke; sculptures made (by the trolls) of papier-maché, paint and glazed porcelain)

Out of Controll espresso cups; a limited porcelain edition of 300, hand made, each unique set of an espresso cup, a saucer and a spool.

Out of Controll nail polish; Made in collaboration with Uslu Airlines - existed in 3 colours; Green, Red & Gold.