Q: Did you ever visit the V&A while studying at Central Saint Martins and is there a particular room you find the most inspiring?
KW: I did come there a lot – one of the most inspiring rooms were the big tapestry rooms – they’re incredible.
Q: Your works are extremely detailed and beautiful, what is the most common reaction you receive from people towards your work?
KW: One of the reactions I enjoy the most is when people tell me about their own experiences they have had looking into the work – being so layered it offers a personal narrative alongside and often quite different to the one I imagined in my head while creating it.
Q: Where do you begin when you start each of your pieces?
KW: The start is always about creating the landscape be it a forest or a map – it is the foundation that dictates the work.
Q: Where did your fascination with old maps come from?
KW: Being from Iceland I learnt about the world looking through my mum’s old Atlas – it used to make me dream and I would get lost for hours, I would hand draw my own maps and speculate about future journeys.
Q: How long does it take to create a piece like ‘24 Hringlaga Lundunar Milur’?
KW: It probably all together takes a few months, some come together quicker then others and some take a few months longer than expected.
Q: When our Visual Merchandising Manager first asked whether your work could be spread across the V&A Bookshop print wall, did you envision how the final outcome would look?
KW: I was not sure how it would look but I knew I wanted to do it!! I was so happy because in the whole of London the V&A has been such a massive inspiration throughout my work across the years.
Globe by Kristjana Williams at the V&A Shop
