Pavilion

The Iceland Pavilion

The concept of the Iceland Pavilion was for it to be a place in which visitors felt at home in Iceland – as a country of literature and of magnificent natural beauty. Most Icelandic households have their own small libraries. If it weren't for that lively interest in literature it wouldn't be possible for our independent publishing sector with around 30 publishing houses to sustain itself in such a small country. We brought the tradition of our home libraries to Frankfurt, and with it also the Icelandic readers themselves. So there's a double sense in which we invited people into our world of books.

This was achieved by using several hundred photos of Icelanders pictured in their own private libraries. As part of the campaign “Come with us to Frankfurt!”, Icelandic readers uploaded their photos to a Facebook account (www.facebook.com/sogueyjan.island), or they sent them by post and e-mail to the Fabulous Iceland office in Reykjavík. Besides this, there were also video portraits of Icelanders reading from their favourite books. These separate, self-contained Portraits added up to make a video installation lasting roughly 30 minutes. From the home libraries area, visitors could then enter the Iceland Panorama – an elaborate 360-degree film installation that brings home quite stunningly, the grandeur of the country's landscapes and natural phenomena.