starting this weekend, the felleshus of the nordic embassies in berlin lends its walls to reykjavik’s design space spark. founded in 2010 and by now the most important destination for icelandic design, the objective of spark has always been to create a platform especially for local initiatives of contemporary design. four of the sixteen projects it has launched since ints inception now constitute the exhibition in berlin. it runs through april 10, 2015, entrance is free.

certainly dearest to this blog’s calling is the poster series “urban shape” by paolo gianfrancesco, an italian architect now residing in iceland and clearly an addict of the cityscape who could nonstop talk for ten minutes about the systemic depth of what at first just looks like 50 maps. be it as it may, just looking at the different shapes of europe’s capitals makes you want to get packing.

“skvís” by siggi eggertsson is less heady even though girls’ faces are hidden in its psychedelic blur. originally conceived to transform an entire room into a space trip, the installation unfortunately looks a bit lost now in its scaled down version. take a step or two towards it, though, and you might yet feel like you’re getting sucked into its lusty pleasure. eggertsson is also working on a really neat-looking screensaver for his son.

the two remaining installations, “anatomy of letters” by sigríður rún, and brynjar sigurðarson’s “prik”, are calmer – and more distinctly local. “prik” is essentially a bunch of fishermen’s village-inspired sticks that one imagines to be hunting tools but that are actually without proper purpose. a true headscratcher.

the 41-part “anatomy” series on the other hand feels immediate and clear, as it recreates the letters of the iceland alphabet as skeletons, yet quite lively ones. rún’s work is rich in detail and highly rewarding: the attention you bring to it is reflected in the discoveries you will be able to make.

all photography by nora römer.