In 2008, in the aftermath of the global financial crash, I took part in the group exhibition Weathertight, held in a house that was under construction when the building process was forced to stop. I drew directly onto the concrete with pencil, making lines that resembled cracks.
The title Concrete Realism refers first to the material itself, the house built in concrete. It also points to a state of things on the verge of collapse, and to the traditions of Concrete Art and Realism. The drawings are literal and unembellished: realistic depictions of cracks in a structure suspended in a moment of uncertainty.
I later made Concrete Realism again at the National Art Gallery of the Faroe Islands. There, it occupied a large wall at the center of the gallery space. At first it appeared as a blank white wall, almost empty. As one moved closer, the cracks slowly revealed themselves, multiplying until the surface seemed on the verge of collapse.
Concrete Realism carries three meanings without forcing any of them, and the cracks operate both as representation and prophecy.
Sara Björnsdóttir 