Flying north of Norway, there is a stunning archepelago well within the arctic circle. I had the amazing good fortune to be selected for The Arctic Circle residency -- a floating residency for 30 artists, musicians, and thinkers! The program leader, Sarah Gerats, was the best combination of wilder-woman and artist. "Tell me your dreams," she would say, encouraging us to think about what experiences would enrich us or further our work. "How can I plan it, if you keep your desire in your head?" But then she would add, "The weather decides."
To visit this stunningly remote and fragile place was an exquisite privilege. Each day, the ship would drop anchor at a new site -- the face of a glacier meeting the ocean, a beach with piles of Beluga bones testifying to the whaling industry's fierce history, a hike along the "threshold" marking were a glacier was a century before.
I was fiercely alive to the experience, journalling and sketchbooking with intensity. I was also pursuing a project that is both new to me in many ways, but also grows organcially from my many creative obsessions and concerns.
During the travel times, I would often be painting with my smallest oils kit ever. I painted images of arctic animals -- which I would then take into the landscape, collaging and collaborating with the natural elements around me. The scenery, obviously, was a dialogue partner -- but the wind, rain, and atmosphere played a lively role in making this project what it is.
Just as amazing as the setting: the people! Such a diverse group of people, very serious about their work, with tremendous generosity and humour! I learned so much from every single person. Composers, artists operating drones in the air and under water, a photographer using an antique camera with expired film.
Put all of these fascinating people together, with no internet access -- and we were sharing knowledge, relying on each other, and living deeply within each cherished moment.
The effects of climate change are visible. We understood the irony of travelling to be in such a remote place. Being there, however, brought home what is at stake in this climate emergency. Seeing the work coming from these artists, I believe what we experienced will have an impact. Powerful, beautiful, truthful.
Abdullah Fahad Alsanea
Michele Barker
Magdalena Barszcz
Teresa Berman
Debashree Turel
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