The Arctic Circle Project


3 December, 2010



In October 2010 I spent 18 days travelling on a small research sailing vessel through the High Arctic with 18 other international artists. It was an incredible adventure both as a human being and as an artist. Being immersed in nature for so long, without contact to “city life” (no internet or phone or signs of civilisation apart from the 18 artists and 5 crew on the boat),  was such a privilege, and yet I sensed it was something we should all be doing much more of in this crazy, fast-paced world. The way this experience allowed me to slow down and take time to observe and reflect on myself, my world, and my place in it, was such a rich and fulfilling way to make work as an artist. There is nothing more humbling as a human being than to be surrounded in 360 degrees by such an enormous and immense landscape that oozes both beauty and danger simultaneously. I have never felt so small.

The intention of the project was to function as “an incubator for thought and experimentation for artists and innovators who seek out and foster areas of collaboration to engage in central issues of our time” (www.thearcticcircle.org). 18 days flew by with observations, mini creative experiments, and playful interactions with others on board and on land. No work was completed by the time  I disembarked but I have, however, collected hours and hours and gigabites and gigabites of documentation in audio, video, still images, and text of this arctic wonderland. I’m working my way through them with the creation of some new work during 2011.






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