Eskifjörður

I have been staying here for about a week, and have been meeting a lot of friendly people who live here. Eskifjörður is a beautiful town- I finally walked around to take some photos today, and it was almost impossible to take a bad one.

The photos in the beginning of my set are of my makeshift studio on the top floor (kind of an attic) of the house. There isn’t any furniture in the room, but I wanted to work up there and look out the little window every once and a while.

There are a few night shots in the set of the harbor area- Eskifjörður has a pretty big shipping port. The next set is from the 100th anniversary celebration of the first hydropower plant here. It’s not in use any more, and hasn’t been since the 60′s. I am told this is because it is so small, and also the the pipe that leads the water is filled with mud.

The last few photos are just tourist photos. We get just a few hours of light at this point, so I seized the opportunity today when I saw that sun was not hiding behind clouds.

#occupy

I have been in Eskifjörður now for a few days, and not taken any photos yet. I will take some tomorrow. This is a beautiful town, with warm and friendly people, and I am looking forward to working with them on a project, of which you will see more in the future.

The reason I wanted to post something before I turn in for the night, is that a conversation about what the next steps for the #occupy movement will be broadcast in just a few hours (from 8-10pm eastern time)  live at this link:

http://www.thenation.com/video/164494/watch-michael-moore-naomi-klein-and-others-occupy-wall-streets-possibilities

It has been so exciting to read about what is happening back home, and to hear reports from some of my friends are very active in the movement in New York and Baltimore.  And, on some level, a little heartbreaking to know that I won’t be back until May.  But, I am not whining, just torn.

There is an #occupy camp in Reykjavík, which I think might have happened just when I left the city to come to Eskifjörður. I will definitely be stopping by to check it out if they are still able to camp in the cold when I get back!

More about what I am doing tomorrow. Watch that broadcast!

Reykjavík–>Akureyri–>Eskifjordur

I have been in Akureyri for the past few days on my way to an artist residency in Eskifjordur.

I didn’t take any photos while I have been in Akureyri (I know, I know), but might be able to take some before I jump on the bus on my journey. I am so excited to visit east Iceland and talk to the people that live around there- and take a trip to the nearby Alcoa operated hydro-electric-powered aluminum smelter (named Fjardaál, or, “aluminum of the fjords”).  This plant, and Alcoa, were the subject of a documentary film (and book) called “Dreamland“.  I have already watched the documentary- and while in Akureyri, managed to pick up what may be the last copy of the english language version of the book left in Iceland (I have been looking for it everywhere!).

Once I arrive in Eskifjordur, I am staying in a small house, which is, according to the information sheet that was sent to me, “probably the oldest house in east Iceland”.  Sounds great!

 

2 Day Adventure- Part 2 (of 2)

Jessica and I drove back to Vík, a little town on the shore just off of the ring road and stayed in a lovely hostel for the night.

We stopped at a black sand beach in Vík, and then headed out to the Golden Circle. My camera battery ran out before the day was over, unfortunately (I forgot my power adapter!) so the trip ends a little abruptly.

2 Day Adventure, Part 1

Jessica and I rented a car and went on a short 2 day adventure just to see some of what’s out there.

On the first day, our destination was the glacier lagoon – which is in southeastern Iceland (about a 5 hour drive). We also made a few stops along the way. The one problem, which maybe we did not calculate very well, is that it gets dark at about 5pm here.  We made it to the glacier lagoon just as it was getting dark.  We managed to shine the car headlights on the glacier pieces and do some long-exposure photos (luckily the ice chunks were not moving). The two that I put in this set each took about 40 seconds to expose!

Sirkus for sale

In 2008, I traveled to London to produce a tour of some of the local gorilla garden goings-on with my friend Heather Ring for the first ever This Is Not A Gateway (TINAG, for short) festival (which was a great festival!). The TINAG festival also happened to take place at the same time as the Frieze Art Fair. Another friend of mine was in town for Frieze, and he helped sneak Heather and I in to check it out.

That year, an artists’ collective from Reykjavík called Kling & Bang was at Frieze with a project that transplanted a well known bar called Sirkus that had recently been shut down in Reykjavík to the white walled cubicles of the art fair. While I was never lucky enough to get to go to Sirkus while it was open in Reykjavík, I did get to go while it was in London.

Inside, there were Icelandic DJ’s, bartenders, the furniture from the original Sirkus, and of course, the “black-death” liqueur that Iceland is famous for. The corner of Frieze where Sirkus was located was alive with music, a huge crowd of people- and was by far the most activated space in the fair.  Heather, I remember, was really excited because she had visited the bar when she was in Reykjavík and, if I remember correctly, wound up making friends with members of a death metal band that she still keeps in touch with.

Here’s a little more info from Kling and Bang’s website:
Kling og Bang, the artists collective from Iceland, will commemorate Sirkus, a Reykjavik bar, landmark, and hub of the alternative arts scene, which is due for demolition. Kling og Bang will save its facade and interior and re-erect it at the Frieze Art Fair, like a circus moving to another town. A zany nomadic act reflecting the drive of Icelandic art, producing a situation of one circus within another for artists to respond to.

Sirkus, a bar in the scruffy downtown area of Reykjavik, was demolished this spring after serving for nine years as a living landmark and the hub of the alternative arts scene. In a zany nomadic act that reflects the drive and spirit of Icelandic art, Kling & Bang, a gallery run by eight enthused artists, has not only helped the owner, Sigga Boston, save the bar’s facade and interior, but also resolved to bring it to the UK and re-erect it at the Frieze. A place of celebration and creation will move town for a few short days, like the travelling circus invoked by the bar’s name.

I walked past the old location of the bar a few days ago and took some photos.

I love the gesture of paying homage to a place that was important to so many people- locals and visitors alike. Having now seen where Sirkus used to be (or should I say- where it was originally?)- I feel I experienced Sirkus  backwards- which seems kind of appropriate.

Here’s a blog post with an image of Sirkus in Reykjavík before it closed:

http://goldcurating.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/sirkus-at-frieze%E2%80%A6/

And here’s another with images of Sirkus at Frieze in 2008 (scroll down a little to see the image):

http://www.wayfaring.info/2008/10/20/the-frieze-art-fair-in-london/

Project updates

I have decided to hold off on shipping my bike cart here from Baltimore– but will be building a cart here instead. Cyle will be bringing some of the essential parts with him when he comes to visit in December.
Why? Well, the shipping is costly, and it will be easier to have one cart here, and one in Baltimore so that I don’t have to worry about shipping things back and forth.

At any rate, here is the only photo I have of the lab that was built in Baltimore- I don’t expect it to be too hard to re-build.

I have been setting up meetings with people in Reykjavík in the meantime, including one with Ósk Vilhjálmsdóttir, a really interesting artist and activist.

I will be leaving sometime around November 1st to begin an adventure in east Iceland at a house that is “probably the oldest house in east Iceland”!