Brynjarr Þór (Perry) Mendoza is a specialist in Icelandic literature, with a broader interest in literary theory and philosophy (particularly aesthetics, hermeneutics, and poetics). His current research aims towards a theory of absence in contemporary literature by delving into a philosophical inquiry on the dialectical relationship between existential experiences of absence and the arts. His own thought draws from and modifies that of Jacques Rancière.

His other research interests include depictions of glaciers in Icelandic literature and culture; Surrealist, Impressionist, and Abstract art; and contemporary poetry. Other authors whose works in his research include: Gyrðir Elíasson, Sjón, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Ian McEwan, William Shakespeare, Yahya Hassan, Tove Jansson, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, and Johanna Holmström. He is also working on a monograph on Gyrðir Elíasson’s works through an ecocitical perspective in relation and affect theories.

A major strand in his thinking is what may be called decolonial hermeneutics, which incessantly seeks to break the layers of power and oppression hidden in modes of understanding and representation, especially as they pertain to a Western context. He has written about Icelandic environmentalism and decolonisation, and has articles in progress on various aspects of decolonisation and manifestations of ecological grief in literature and culture.