Working Title // Anastína Eyjólfsdóttir

Iceland University of the Arts

Graduation Festival 2026

MA Performing Arts

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Working Title is an art performance that examines labor conditions and class structures. The motivation behind the piece is to interrogate the many ways in which work shapes our lives. The boundaries between labor and art are explored, as the physical and mental demands placed on the performers reflect the pressures of modern working life.

The format mirrors a regular workday: the performance lasts eight hours and includes a break.

Today, many sectors are marked by rapid change, increasing demands for efficiency, and constant pressure for higher productivity. Which values are prioritized, and which are undermined, in order to meet the needs of such a labor market? In this piece, structural challenges are studied and observed through scenarios enacted on stage.

Some of the questions used to shape these scenarios include:

– At what cost do you actually sell your time?

– What kinds of value, beyond the monetary, are created for those who buy your time?

– How do you experience your laboring hours—physically and mentally—after you have clocked out?

The performance explores themes such as monotony and repetition as fundamental elements of labor; power dynamics in the workplace and the ways privileges are maintained and reinforced; the body’s needs in relation to work, including illness, disability, menstruation, and pregnancy; the physiological consequences of labor; time as an economic and social divide; and the close relationship between economic stability and mental health.

In a time when the job market is shaped by rapid technological development, climate change, and an uncertain future, it has become crucial to think through alternative ways of organizing ourselves. With this performance, we aim to dig into the mechanisms at play in order to raise questions and reflect deeply on how we might collectively face the challenges ahead.

A dynamic, experimental, and collectively driven artistic form is combined with social critique. We believe in art as a way of contributing to public discourse through poetic means—activating questions through embodied experience. With this unique format, we hope to open new perspectives on what labor means for individuals and society, and on which values we wish to build our shared future.

Supported by the Norwegian Culture Council with Norwegian-Icelandic cultural co-operation 

Anastína Eyjólfsdóttir: My practice unfolds at the intersection of dance, performance and the visual arts, boundery of the body is the main subject to most of my work. I am captivated by the rythms I see around me, in the daily life: in the tension and the stretches. In the monumental, as well as in volatile movements and spaces inbetween.

I am an artist working between Reykjavík and Oslo, currently pursuing a research-based master’s program in performing arts at the Iceland Academy of the Arts (LhÍ). My current focus explores the commodification of labor, the body, and personal time, culminating in a performance piece premiering in Reykjavík in January 2026. I hold a BA in Sculpture from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Netherlands. My work examines the complex interplay between humans and the environment. Through my art, I seek to inspire change and invite audiences to rethink their connection with the natural world.

My works have been featured in numerous exhibitions and performances across international platforms. Notable exhibitions include at the Stedelijk Museum, Gallery Nest, as well as at the Doors Creative Studio in Amsterdam.

Artistic Direction: Anastína Eyjólfsdóttir

Artistic Team: Clare Aimée, Gabriel Rideout Marling, Gosia Traijkowska, Jon Fosmark, Leevi Mettinen, Magnus Elskær, Úlfur Kjalar Eyjólfsson,

Choreography: Leevi Mettinen, Gabriel Rideout Marling

Music: Magnus Elskær, Jon Fosmark

Additional Performers: Salóme Sól, Elsa Ståhl

Special thanks to Angela Snæfellsjökuls Rawlings, Bjarni Þór Pétursson, Brogan Davidson, Egill Ingibergsson, Eline Benjaminsen, Hrefna Lind Lárusdóttir, Hringur Kjartansson, Ingibjörg Huld Haraldsdóttir, Io Alexa Sivertsen, Karl Ágúst Þorbergsson, Mio Storåsen, Rósa Ómarsdóttir, Saga Kjerulf S.dóttir, Simen Formo Hay, Simon Schultz, Steinunn Knúts Önnudóttir, Una Þorleifsdóttir.

When:

22.01.26

16:00-00:00 (8h)

Dinner break: 20:00 (30min)

Where:

Hallveigarstígur 1, 101 Reykjavík