film by Sebastian Ziegler

Most children take to drawing and discover in it the elements of  happiness, play, and peace of mind. Many people stop drawing when they grow up, and choose instead to express themselves with words through language and writing. To draw used to mean to write in ancient times, according to Icelandic etymology.

Rán Flygenring graduated as a graphic designer from the Icelandic Academy of Arts in 2009 and has ever since used her drawing skills to lead the life of her choice. She is constantly on the move, observing her environment, mainly the people, and is fascinated by human behaviour. Rán tends to see the funny side of life her drawings have playful element, and her style is effortless and contagious. The drawings tell the stories of events and situations that she experiences, and it is clear that she is a participant just as much as an observer.

Many will remember Rán from her role as the Court Draftsman of Reykjavik city in the summer of 2011, when she played a role similar to that played by draftsmen in the artistic culture of the Renaissance in the 16th century. Since then she has travelled the world, armed with a pen, a portable scanner and a drawing pad. The summer 2015 she has been travelling around Iceland, mainly focussing on public bathing and its many facets in Icelandic culture and nature.

This project, and Rán´s choice of career, makes one think how flexible the idea of a job can be when people are creative and talented. Traditional job titles can really hold people back. One of the first things Rán did after graduating was to invent a new job title, that of a Court Draftsman of Reykjavik. Now she has invented a new title, she is now a Documentary Draftsman. 

text by Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir