Color and Connection: Inside Shoplifter’s Immersive World of Nervescape XI

At the Hilliard Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana, Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, also known as Shoplifter, stands surrounded by waves of textured color. Her latest installation, Nervescape XI (on view until July 25, 2026), fills the gallery like a living organism. Made entirely of synthetic hair, the environment she creates, in her words, is a “fantastical space where anything is possible.”

“I take humor very seriously,” she says with a laugh. “At my core, I’m a joyous person, but, like the dark side of the moon, there’s always another aspect.” The work itself exists within that dynamic balance. Bright colors and immersive, undulating forms create pathways to spaces of comfort that invite contemplation or simply stillness. The artist describes her work as “Going into nature, but a hyper-nature. The longer you stay, the deeper it becomes.” She adds,  “I love that the museum has provided beanbags and seating, so people can linger and meditate inside the piece. It’s a place to rest; a sanctuary.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by hair,” states Shoplifter. She recalls discovering a braid of her grandmother’s hair as a child, hidden in a drawer. “It was romantic but also morbid—like a piece of her, cut off and preserved,” she remembers. Later, while working in an antique shop, she found Victorian memorial flowers fashioned from the hair of the deceased. “It was a way to hold onto someone,” she explains. Hair, by its nature, is intimate, deeply personal, and loaded with associations of beauty, identity, and time.

Though she began by using human hair, a commission for the Museum of Modern Art led her to experiment with brightly braided synthetic hair. This evolution adds a painterly quality to her work. “That’s when the colorist in me took over,” she says. “It became a kind of painting in three dimensions, a landscape made of color and light that you can literally walk into.” Although the work’s scale, structure, and bright colors feel monumental, it is, in essence, handmade and “unapologetically” tactile. 

Nervescape XI is the eleventh installment in a series of large-scale, site-specific installations created worldwide. Shoplifter arrives with a vision and a loose plan, but allows the place, and her experience of it, to shape what the artwork becomes. She takes into account just about everything: the space, the light, the people around her, and her own intuition. The joy for Shoplifter comes from this sense of discovery in the act of creation. She likens the process to building ecosystems, “Each iteration of Nervescape connects to the architecture, like veins or vines spreading across a building.” Nervescape XI at the Hilliard is one of her most ambitious installations and largest in the series.

Installing Nervescape XI in the gallery was a massive, community-driven undertaking. The Hilliard assembled a team of eleven local artists, ranging from university students and recent alumni to established practitioners, to assist the artist and her two studio assistants.

As massive boxes full of synthetic hair arrived in Lafayette, local assistants sorted them into piles by color. Then, over two weeks, they worked side by side with the artist to assemble and suspend the colorful elements from the ceiling and walls, gradually transforming the gallery into a vibrant, otherworldly environment. It was essential to the artist that viewers could walk around the entire space and also venture through the pathways created between and under the cascading forms. Shoplifter would direct with a laser pointer, adjusting the shapes and color combinations as the structures formed in real-time. The final stage of installation involved brushing and fluffing every part of the entire installation to reveal the textures and colors of the materials. “Like grooming a giant creature,” the artist says with a laugh. She encouraged everyone on the team to contribute creatively. “It’s not about precision—it’s about making something together.”

That spirit of collaboration shaped the experience as much as the artwork itself. “It becomes like a temporary family,” Shoplifter explains, a sentiment echoed by the local assistants.  The process sparked friendships and creative exchanges that extended far beyond the museum’s walls. Beyond the opportunity to work with the world-renowned artist, connections within the Lafayette artistic community were deepened. As they sorted materials and assembled, the group shared stories and artistic perspectives. “You could feel how much everyone respected one another,” Rozalyn LeCompte said. “We talked about art, music, culture, our different backgrounds—it was this beautiful exchange.” Jade Usackas, one of Shoplifter’s studio assistants, even organized an informal show-and-tell where each participant shared an image from their art or life and spoke about its meaning. Shoplifter echoed that appreciation and remarked on the team’s skills. Since the installation, the local participants have continued to support one another, attending each other’s openings and staying connected. They’ve described it as transformative: a reminder of how art can build networks of trust and community.

As rich an experience as it was for her collaborators, the time in Louisiana left a deep impression on the artist herself.  On one of her last days, her hosts took her to Cypress Cove Landing (known locally as “the Levee”) for the weekly dance and musical lineup featuring Zydeco. And later, a sunset swamp tour at Lake Martin, where she was able to experience the natural beauty of Southern Louisiana, first-hand. She recalls vividly seeing the Spanish moss hanging from the trees for the first time. She found it profoundly moving, drawing parallels between her imagined world and the real, natural forms found in the Southern landscape. Describing the experience as “magical,” she recounts, “The Spanish moss, the trees outside—it all resonates with the textures I use. I see echoes of nature in my own work here.”

Ultimately, Nervescape XI emerges as both a visual and social ecosystem—a dynamic work that continues to evolve with every new experience. Art becomes a shared language, linking the artist’s Icelandic imagination to the warmth and rhythm of South Louisiana. It reaffirmed that art thrives most vibrantly in a supportive and dynamic community. The installation radiates that collective energy—an immersive world born of collaboration, openness, and the joy of discovery.