Magic is...

Abstract

This thesis outlines the practice of my collaboration with fellow artist Silfrún Una Guðlaugsdóttir, in our duo Tara & Silla, and our works. The thesis is an attempt to put our work into context and conversation with other artists and the canon. Over the next six chapters, I introduce the idea of the sandbox. The sandbox is a method we established of co-creation, where a frame is built, the tools are put in, the rules of the game are set and others are invited to play. The goal of building sandboxes, of creating these works, is to find a sense of freedom, agency, and magic. To explain this metaphor I reference the philosophies and works of other collaborative groups including The Icelandic Love Corporation, the Imposter Poets as well as literary thinkers, Susan Sontag, Maggie Nelson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. Throughout our works and the works of others whom we are inspired by, constant change is the key; the framework morphs, the rules shift, the invitation goes out to new and different people and what manifests as a result is magic.