Shoplifter (real name Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir) is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based contemporary artist who works with synthetic and natural hair. When Arnardóttir moved to New York in 1994, her birth name was mispronounced as Shoplifter and she has gone by that name ever since. Shoplifter is known for her sculptures, wall murals, and site-specific installations and has shown her work worldwide and collaborated with artists from various countries. In 2004, she collaborated with musician,

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

and created the hair mask for the cover or her album

Medúlla ''Medúlla'' is the fifth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 30 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by One Little Indian Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. After the release of her electron ...

. In 2008, she worked in collaboration with Aimez Vous Avec Ferveur to create a large-scale window installation at

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. Shoplifter represented

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

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in 2019 with her installation Chromo Sapiens.

Early life and influences

Shoplifter was born in Reykjavik, Iceland. At an early age, she was introduced to the art of hair by her grandmother, who stored one of her cut-off braids in her bedroom drawer. She works with hair in various ways, creating multi-colored structures. Shoplifter has a background in painting and works within the spaces of art, design, and fashion. She has collaborated with brands such as

Moncler Moncler S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion house specialized in ready-to-wear outerwear headquartered in Milan, Italy. Since its start as a down jacket boutique, Moncler has expanded to design vests, raincoats, windbreakers, knitwear, leather ...

Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons (also known as CDG) is a Japanese fashion label based in Paris that was created and led by Rei Kawakubo. Its French flagship store is located in Paris. This label owns a world-wide store chain featuring various lines of prod ...

, & Other Stories, and HAY. Shoplifter completed her BFA at the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts in Iceland and her MFA at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoplifter Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Icelandic women artists 21st-century Icelandic women artists Icelandic contemporary artists Icelandic expatriates in the United States Icelandic sculptors Icelandic women sculptors Muralists People from Reykjavík School of Visual Arts alumni Women installation artists Women muralists