Bergur Ebbi: Light Laughter at Risk
–Iceland
Born 1981, trained as a lawyer. He began a career as a public speaker, stand-up comedian and writer. He writes essays, poems, plays and columns for newspapers, creates for radio and television. He is interested in the connection between technology and man: in the first book, Stofuhiti [2017, Room Temperature], he dissects contemporary social media, reflects on the flip side of constant connectivity and its effects on our identity, in the next book, Skjáskot [2019, Screenshots], he looks to the future. He writes hard-hitting, appealing lyrics, trying to stir up tired consumers to think about where we are all heading to together. But he does not deny the comedian in him, according to Bergur Ebbi, the basis of an anecdote is crossing borders. "I think the explosive power of a joke, the reason we laugh, is because we're on a little bit of thin ice," he says.