Haraldur Karlsson | Artistic Alchemy & Technical Strategy

Selected Works

Re-Enlightment light sculpture installation at Elliðarstöð

Re-Enlightment (2024)

Light Sculpture · Elliðarstöð

Permanent installation for Veitur (Reykjavík Energy). A collaboration with Litten Nystrøm (M.A.P.).

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Permanent light sculpture commissioned by Veitur (Reykjavík Energy) for their Elliðarstöð hydroelectric power station. The work transforms the industrial architecture of the facility into a living canvas of light and colour. A collaboration with Litten Nystrøm under M.A.P.

Búðareyri exhibition design at Technical Museum of East Iceland

Búðareyri (2023)

Exhibition Design · Technical Museum of East Iceland

Multimedia-driven narrative in a high-hazard zone. Exploring human transformation through video mapping and sensor technology.

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Commissioned by the Technical Museum of East Iceland in Seyðisfjörður. The exhibition space sits in a declared hazard zone (ofanflóðahætta) following the devastating December 2020 landslide that destroyed homes in the town.

No original artifacts could be displayed on-site, requiring a fully multimedia-driven approach: video installations, projection mapping, and sensor technology extending onto the floors and wall remains of destroyed houses. The project demanded synchronized multi-video settings and robust environmental protection for all equipment.

Immaterial exhibition featuring light-sensitive camera processing

Immaterial (2023)

Open Studio Exhibition · Corsicana, Texas

An extremely light-sensitive camera at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Beaton Street, processed with Max/MSP until objects became so abstracted their forms were unrecognizable — what remains is a record of kinetic energy, an extended transference of light. With Litten Nystrøm.

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Created during a residency at 100 Gravier in Corsicana, Texas. The camera's footage was processed in real-time using Max/MSP — cars, pedestrians, and buildings became so abstracted their forms dissolved. Research into non-human modes of seeing: distilling a small-town intersection into pure motion and light transference. Open studio exhibition with Litten Nystrøm.

Interference projection mapping on Hallgrímskirkja church

Interference (2021)

Interactive Projection Mapping · Hallgrímskirkja

Projected on Hallgrímskirkja for Vetrarhátíð. The work senses movement from the audience and the environment, animating the church's basalt-column-inspired architecture. Hidden patterns emerge — playing with permanence and transience, reality and perception. M.A.P. with Litten Nystrøm.

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Projected onto the iconic façade of Hallgrímskirkja for Vetrarhátíð (Reykjavík Winter Lights Festival). The installation uses sensors to detect movement from the audience and the surrounding environment, animating the church's basalt-column-inspired architecture in real time. Hidden patterns emerge and dissolve — playing with permanence and transience, reality and perception. A M.A.P. collaboration with Litten Nystrøm.

Enlighted light sculpture at Vetrarhátíð festival

Enlighted (2022)

Light Sculpture · Vetrarhátíð, Reykjavík

Commissioned for Vetrarhátíð. Made to answer the wish of Reykjavík's citizens for more light during the shortest days of winter. Received the Reykjavik Winter Festival Award 2022. M.A.P. with Litten Nystrøm.

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Commissioned for Vetrarhátíð (Reykjavík Winter Lights Festival). A light sculpture made to answer the wish of Reykjavík's citizens for more light during the shortest and darkest days of winter. The work received the Reykjavik Winter Festival Award 2022. M.A.P. collaboration with Litten Nystrøm.

Multiverse audiovisual performance at RAFLOST Festival

Multiverse (2022)

Improvised A/V Performance · RAFLOST Festival

M.A.P. — a shared platform fusing tactile material and electronic art. Challenging our idea of space and reality to reveal a world beyond our sensory limitations. Gallery Mengi, Reykjavík.

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Improvised audiovisual performance at Gallery Mengi, Reykjavík, as part of the RAFLOST Festival for electronic music and visual arts. M.A.P. — a shared platform fusing tactile material and electronic art. Real-time generative visuals synchronized with live sound performance, challenging our idea of space and reality to reveal a world beyond our sensory limitations.

Artistic Alchemy

A parallel knowledge search alongside science — transforming exact data into sensory experience, moving beyond representation toward embodied resonance. Whether the source is an MRI scan, a geological sensor, a flame, or a light frequency, the question remains: what is hidden in the data that only art can reveal?

Data → Body

Little Solar System → Brain

Ongoing since 2014. MRI scan data transformed into poetic choreography, video sculptures, and performances — revealing the hidden aesthetic qualities of our internal biological landscapes. Began with MRI images of his son's brain; emerged from Little Solar System, which transformed the rhythmic signals of the solar system into sound and image — hard facts mixed with fantasy.

Exhibited: Oslo, Reykjavík, Brno, Legnica, Xi'an, Montreal

Supported by: Visual Artists' Remuneration Fund, Gallery of Iceland, Atopia

Data → Time & Perception

Architecture of Time

Mount Esja 16 Days — translating 24 hours to 24 minutes, days arranged side-by-side revealing how no moment is ever the same regarding light, colour, and movement. An observation and meditation challenging human perception of a static landscape.

Immaterial — processing footage until objects become so abstracted their forms are unrecognizable; what remains is a record of pure kinetic energy. Research into non-human modes of seeing — distilling the city into pure motion.

Vasulka Kitchen, Brno · Corsicana, Texas

Data → Element

Instruments & Preservation

The Fire Instrument — flames as sensors detecting air movements, translating atmospheric disturbances into control signals for 3D video and multichannel sound. Developed at STEIM Amsterdam & Atelier Nord Oslo. Selected for NIME.

Snæfellsnes Broadcast Station — landscape-as-data: real-time A/V synthesis portraying an environment consumed by digital and surveillance culture.

Image/ine — software archaeology: updating Steina Vasulka and Tom Demeyer's legacy tool (STEIM) for contemporary operating systems. Preserving the playfulness principles of early video synthesis.

Vasulka Kitchen, Brno, STEIM , Atelier Nord , Atopia

Consulting

Consulting as a parallel track to art — applying three decades of expertise in sonology and video synthesis to institutional challenges. Whether architecting university media labs, designing hazard-safe museum exhibitions, or engineering complex interactive systems for peers, providing the technical and pedagogical infrastructure necessary for electronic art to thrive.

Core Expertise

Max/MSP Jitter & custom software

Multi-channel sound & spatialized audio

Synchronized multi-video & projection mapping

Sensor technology & interactive sculpture

Facility design & equipment specification

Media archaeology & legacy preservation

Formal Roles

Multimedia Consultant, Atelier Nord (2009–2015)

Head of Digital Media Lab, LHÍ (1999–2008)

Artists' Salary Fund Committee, appointed by Minister of Education and Culture (2022)

SÍM nominator

Chair, RAFLOST Festival

Technical Architecture & Specialized Engineering

Max/MSP Jitter · Multi-Channel Sound · Synchronized Video

High-level problem solving for complex interactive systems — bridging artistic vision and engineering reality. Treats moving image the way a musician treats sound: as raw signal to be processed, layered, and spatialized in real time. A direct result of Sonology training.

Planning and building interactive sculptures for artists and institutions, ensuring delicate digital ideas survive in physical public spaces.

Software: Workshops in Max/MSP Jitter (Atelier Nord, 2011). Taught Max/MSP/Jitter and Isadora at LHÍ. Applied: 3D Neuron particles (Brain project — interactive generative shapes), motion distillation (Immaterial, Corsicana), custom frame-by-frame editing software (Dans 1-2-3 — five synchronized cameras).

Multi-channel sound: 8-channel sound + 3D video with wireless sensors (Little Solar System). Quadraphonic audio + 3D interactive video (7-of-12 Dialectologies, EIG with Daniel Schorno). Immersive sound environments (The Fire Instrument).

Synchronized video: 16-screen simultaneous display (Mount Esja 16 Days). Atelier Nord Vitrine — managed technical platform for four-screen synchronized public works. Videovinda (Warp) — 2 screens, 2 cameras, 2 computers in real-time (Vasulka Chamber commission).

Institutional Design & Pedagogical Strategy

New Media Lab — LHÍ (1999–2008)

Not merely teaching but architecting educational environments — building media labs from the ground up. Designing facility layouts, specifying hardware/software ecosystems, and writing interdisciplinary curricula.

Head of the Digital Media Lab at the Iceland University of the Arts: designed the studio and implemented the curriculum that introduced digital media to the Icelandic fine arts scene.

Curriculum: video, sound art, Max/MSP/Jitter, Isadora, interactive design, sensor technology. Arranged guest specialists across departments.

International advisory: consultation on media lab operations and pedagogy to the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Academy of Fine Arts Prague via Erasmus+ mobility exchanges.

Institutional Consultancy

Atelier Nord & Atopia, Oslo (2009–2017)

Multimedia Consultant and project space manager at Atelier Nord (2009–2015). Formal consultant register: multimedia, sound/video editing, programming, interactive sculpture/installation, sensor technology, interactive video, multikanallyd-systemer (multi-channel sound systems).

Managed technical aspects of the Vitrine project — a dedicated platform for multi-screen video works (often four synchronized screens) in public space.

Team member at Atopia — Center for Video Art and Experimental Film (2015–2017).

Museum Experience & Exhibition Design

Technical Museum of East Iceland

Designing immersive multimedia narratives for spaces where physical artifacts cannot be displayed due to safety or preservation concerns. The machine shop at Búðareyri sits in a declared landslide hazard zone (ofanflóðahætta) — original artifacts could not be housed there.

With Litten Nystrøm: designed a multimedia-led exhibition to carry the narrative without placing the collection at risk. Synchronized multi-video settings, projection mapping, and sensor technology extending onto floors and wall remains of houses destroyed by the December 2020 landslide.

Seyðisfjörður, 2023.

Media Archaeology & Preservation

Vasulka Kitchen Residency

Updating legacy software to function on modern operating systems — preserving the history of video art for future users. Image/ine: Steina Vasulka and Tom Demeyer's tool (STEIM), maintaining the playfulness principles of early video synthesis for contemporary practice.

Vasulka Kitchen, Brno (2021).

Cultural Policy & Strategic Curation

Advisory & Organizational Leadership

Expert evaluation of artistic merit, festival organization, and grant committee service — shaping the ecosystem for electronic art in the Nordic region.

Policy: Appointed by the Minister of Education and Culture (2022) to the Icelandic Artists' Salary Fund committee. SÍM nominator.

Organizational: Founding member and Chair of the RAFLOST Festival for electronic music and visual arts. Key advisor for Atopia and LORNA (Icelandic Society for Electronic Arts).

Specialist Workshops

Workshops & Knowledge Transfer

Guest specialist workshop series in video mapping, VR, interactivity, Max/MSP Jitter, and creative use of medical imagery for artists and institutions.

LHÍ (2023) · Vasulka Kitchen, Brno (2020, online) · Atelier Nord, Oslo (2009–2015, including "Workshop and introduction to Max/MSP Jitter", 2011)

Biography

Haraldur Karlsson is a multimedia artist, sonologist, and technical consultant based in Reykjavík, Iceland. His practice spans interactive installations, video art, sonification, and sensor-based performance, exploring the artistic use of technology to its limits — from MRI brain scans and geological data to real-time generative systems.

Educated at MHÍ Reykjavík (1989–93), media art at AKI Enschede (1993–95) under René Coelho — founder of MonteVideo/Time Based Arts and professor of media art — and Sonology at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague under Clarence Barlow (1995–98). During residencies at STEIM in Amsterdam he developed instruments and interfaces that would later evolve into the Fire Instrument.

In 1999 he founded the New Media Lab at the Iceland University of the Arts (LHÍ), designing the facility, planning courses and equipment, and arranging guest specialists across multiple departments until 2008. He is a founding member of the RAFLOST Festival for electronic music and visual arts and remains its registered chair.

From 2009 to 2019 he was based in Oslo, working as a consultant and project space manager at Atelier Nord (2009–2015), as part of the team at Atopia — Center for Video Art and Experimental Film, and collaborating internationally through the Ljerke project in Friesland and his ongoing partnership with Daniel Schorno in the Eponymous Instrument Group (EIG), whose concert and workshop proposal was accepted at NIME 2011 in Oslo.

Since 2020 he has been working in Iceland, between Reykjavík and Seyðisfjörður. Together with Litten Nystrøm he runs the studio M.A.P. at SÍM studios, Hólmaslóð 4, Grandi, Reykjavík.

Since 2014, a central thread in his work has been the Brain project — an ongoing series transforming MRI scan data into video installations, sculptures, and performances exhibited internationally from Oslo and Reykjavík to Brno, Legnica, Xi'an, and Montreal.

Contact

studio@haraldur.net