MOTHERS OF MT ESJA

Video, 2008

3:19 / HDV / English subtitles

In Mothers of Mt. Esja, a choir of new mothers sing the old and very well-known Icelandic lullaby Sofðu Unga Ástin Mín (“Sleep my young darling”) to their babies by the sea. This lullaby was originally written for a play about the famous Icelandic outlaws Fjalla-Eyvindur and his wife Halla. Halla sings her baby to sleep with this song before throwing it into a waterfall in order to outrun the authorities. We were told that in Iceland’s past, when food was scarce and living conditions were extreme, it was common practice to leave newborn babies in the wilderness overnight to die of exposure (as opposed to starvation). This video was created in October 2008 in the midst of Iceland’s financial collapse known as the kreppa.

a collaboration with Jessica Langley

CHOIR:
Brynja Guðmundsdóttír, Magnea Brynja Magnúsdóttir, Sif Heiða Guðmundsdóttír, Hlín Pálsdóttir, Thórunn Sóley Björnsdóttir, Sigríður Kristinsdóttír

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Joanna Langford, Gretchen Bennett