From the exhibition Vá! Kona in Listasalur Mosfellsbæjar in February 2025.

Exhibition text:

"The exhibition consists of photographs and the subject is speculation about women and their manifestation in folklore. Many of the ancient ideas about women in folklore still exist today. Folktales reflect the values ​​of the society from which they originate and previously had the purpose not only of entertaining but also of instructing and educating. The female characters in the stories we are often a symbol of a threat to men, when women are forced to follow men's standards of respecting the social order of class and gender and is strictly forbidden to change its position. The works in the exhibition are a way to interpret this manifestation of women in the folklore and Telma uses herself as a mannequin, creating a historical character to reflect this interpretation. Along with this, Telma has been to scrutinize the heritage, not only the things we inherit, but also appearance, personality, trauma and everything that comes with it.

The title of the exhibition is a play on the word Wow, which we use in everyday speech to express our admiration for something, but its real meaning is danger, threat or something bad. Wow! A woman?! is a direct reference to the threat spoken of in the legends.  

Telma Har (b.1985) lives and works in Reykjavík. She studied at Reykjavík School of Photography. Her works have been shown in many places in Iceland and abroad.