As in a piece of music typically played in the open air at night, Serenade presents the sublime experience of redemption and renewal to be found in nature- an idea embraced by the 19th century Romantic movement in Europe, an era that saw an increasing humanistic sentiment. The exhibition is inspired by songs written in the same period- in the art song, or lieder tradition.
Migrant bird populations, unable to carry out their life cycles, are stranded in off-course destinations. Likewise, human populations are making journeys beset by bureaucratic and environmental hazards. In the exhibition Serenade, they are given poetic metaphor. This model stresses the mutual obligations between man and humanity under a sense of commonality- from the challenges of an evolving worldview in the context of borders and climate changes- to the micro-portrayal of the life of a single bird navigating the skies at night.
Anna Júlía Friðbjörnsdóttir studied art at Manchester Metropolitan University, Guildhall University in London and The Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts. She has participated in exhibitions at home and abroad, she also founded and edited Sjónauki art magazine.