Shoes

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Leifur Þór Þorvaldsson*

Leifur writes: In a secret location on the in the middle of nowhere, these shoes have been lying for decades undisturbed. One can only imagine how it came about that they ended up there.

Leifur, who describes himself as an Icelandic theater maker, graduated with a BA in Theory and Practice from the theatre department of the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2009. His graduation work, Endurrómun, was staged at Borgaleikhúsið, The Reykjavík City Theatre, last January and was then nominated for a Gríman, the Icelandic answer to the Tony Award. He is now working in the development stages of a new project currently set for production next year. This photo is a sweet example of his obvious visual talents.

During research on the Icelandic theater scene years ago, I discovered that it is amazingly robust for such a small nation. Though there are always grumblings (and rightly so) about reduced funding for the arts, and though the large national and city theaters have a serious corner on the market (here is a statement on that fact by the Association of Independent Theatres in Iceland) theater, as a direct progeny of the storytelling and rímur culture that kept the Icelandic national identity intact during the very difficult middle ages, is alive and strong.

For a bit of extra reading about Icelandic theater, here is a piece on Icelandic theater I wrote for the Reykjavík Grapevine in 2004 (which was, unfortunately, poorly edited and titled before it went to print. Sigh.)

*the letter 'Þ' in Leifur's middle and last names is pronounced 'Th,' so the English spelling of his name is Leifur Thor Thorvaldsson.