Iben Mondrup née Mortensen (born 1969) is a Danish
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
who spent her childhood in
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. A graduate of the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark.
History
The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...
, she turned to writing in 2009. publishing eight novels by 2023. Like many of her works which draw on her experience of life in Greenland and deal with family conflicts, ''Godhavn'' won the (Danmarks Radio's novel prize) in 2015. Her subsequent novels have also been best sellers. Now divorced, Mondrup has two children and lives in Copenhagen.
Early life and family
Born in Copenhagen on 26 September 1969, Iben Mondrup is the daughter of the schoolteachers Ebbe and Kirsten Mortensen. She moved to Greenland with her parents in 1972.
[ Initially she attended kindergarten with local Greenlandic children but then started school in a Danish-speaking class with just one other pupil, a boy from Denmark. Until she was 12, she lived in ]Qeqertarsuaq
Qeqertarsuaq (, historically known as Godhavn) is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Cop ...
, known in Danish as Godhavn, but then the family moved to Nuuk
Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...
, the capital.[ When she was 18, Mondrup moved to Copenhagen where she studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, graduating as a painter in 2003 with a master's degree in ]theory of art
A theory of art is intended to contrast with a definition of art. Traditionally, ''definitions'' are composed of necessary and sufficient conditions, and a single counterexample overthrows such a definition. ''Theorizing'' about art, on the othe ...
and communication.[ After marrying Emil Salto, when she was 30 she gave birth to Ellen and when 33 to Bror.][ Mondrup later married the Danish author but is now divorced.][
]
Career
In connection with her artistic interests, Mondrup has been involved in performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
with the Greenlandic artist Jessie Kleemann.[ In 2012, at the ]Liverpool Biennial
Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom.
Since its launch in 1998, Liverpool Biennial has commissioned over 380 new artworks and presented work by over 530 artists from around the world. ...
, she assisted Kleemann in presenting Sassuma Arnaa (Mother of the Sea).
It is, however, thanks to her novels that Mondrup has gained recognition. Her early works, ''Ved slusen'' (2009), ''Store Malene'' (2013) and ''Godhavn'' (2014) are all closely associated with Greenland. Not until 2016 with the family conflicts in ''Karenminde'' does she move into Denmark itself. ''Vi er brødre'' (2018) shows how two brothers develop in completely different directions after World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.[
Returning to Greenland with the highly acclaimed ''Tabita'' (2020), the first in a trilogy, Mondrup reveals the tragic lives of adopted Greenlandic children.][ Equally successful, the second installment, ''Vittu'' (2022), shows what sentiments of love and betrayal can be experienced by adopted children.]
Awards
For her novel ''Godhavn'', Mondrup was awarded Danmarks Radio's Novel Prize in 2015. In 2017, for ''Karensminde'' she won the Blixen Prize for fiction.[
]
References
External links
Iben Mondrup's website (in Danish)Extract in English from ''Godhavn''
from the Asymptote website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mondrup, Iben
1969 births
Living people
Writers from Copenhagen
21st-century Danish novelists
21st-century Danish women writers
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni