Rakel Andrésdóttir (Iceland)

BIO//
Rakel Andrésdóttir is a multidisciplinary artist and animator. Her body of work spans videos, installations, and theatrical performances, where she explores political and personal issues through storytelling and fantasy. Rakel draws inspiration from amateurism and the staging of performances, such as school plays and puppet theater. In addition to her art practice, Rakel has diverse work experience in music, visual art, film, and theater. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Iceland Academy of the Arts (2020) and completed her animation studies at FAMU in the Czech Republic in 2023.

PROJECT//
During the residency, Rakel explored hand-drawn and stop-motion animation, drawing inspiration from the people, surroundings, and stories of Narva. She created stop-motion animations inside the deserted Kreenholm factory. While people are restricted from crossing the border freely, animals can move without hindrance. This sparked the idea of a bunny traveling across borders and wandering through the factory ruins on its journey between two nations. Rakel kept a diary of animated clips, weaving her daily experiences in Narva into her storytelling. Using materials like paper, paint, fabric, and leaves, she crafted characters and settings.Rakel also collaborated with local schools, working with children to workshop an animated story about a dead bumblebee. Together, they sketched and animated themes from the tale, discovering how visual storytelling bridges cultures and experiences. At the end of the residency, Rakel showcased her work through a screening and a behind-the-scenes presentation, sharing the creative process she developed in Narva.