Ha

A commission for Icelandic linguist Rósa. “Ha” is often scoffed as a crude and lazy Icelandic version of “Pardon me?” “Excuse me, I couldn’t hear you, could you please repeat yourself?” and “That’s incredible! Please, carry on with your story!” or “Pardon. What do you mean? Please explain!” It tends to upset foreigners that don’t know how to react to this weird exhale. So I mixed Icelandic flowers that you wouldn’t pick for your mom’s bouquet: Norwegian Angelica and Common Cottongrass, that aren’t the prettiest wildflowers although practical. Our national flower Eight-petal Mountain-Aven prides itself within the bunch. This image was added to the series Icelandic Words.

Pylsuvagninn

Illustration of the word “hot dog stand” for a private client. They had spent a sabbatical in Reykjavík and associated fond memories with Reykjavík’s no.1 restaurant - the local hot dog stand, or Pylsuvagninn in Icelandic. I surrounded the word with local flora - many of which aid digestion - and local birds that are often found begging for crumbs.