SVALBARD - DARK SEASON - 2019
Svalbard #2
Oil on canvas
1800mm x 900mm
The threshold when light meets the darkness. Prussian blue skies above the snow capped mountains and deep valleys in the land of the midday moon.
This work forms part of a series that records a recent journey to Svalbard in the Arctic, during the Dark Season. January 2019.
In January 2019, travelled 78 degrees north to the archipelago of Svalbard, to a town called Longyearbyen. A region governed by Norway. Located in the Arctic, 3 hours flight from Oslo.
A pristine arctic wilderness with thriving boutique tourism, juxtaposed to an economy built on Coal, with the Polar Institute for climate change research just down the road. A place where the streets have no name.
Immersed in total darkness for 5 nights and 6 days, a group of strangers from all over the world converged on the island for the multidisciplinary Island Dynamics conference on Darkness.
The unique bond we share and new obsession for the Arctic will never be broken.
As the permafrost melts and the sea continues to rise. Polar bears face starvation. The reindeer have no teeth from chewing on rocks. The fragility and risk in the Arctic is insurmountable. The Anthropocene continues to fragment and swallow our existence.
We were part of it. Drinking coal flavoured cocktails in the warmth of a boutique hotel.
The Svalbard series documents the memories of this fascinating place. Delving into the layers of darkness, it’s edges and the thresholds of lightness.
Before I set off to the Arctic during the Dark Season, someone asked,
“What will you see if it’s dark all the time?”
Which is a valid question.
It’s not necessarily what you see in a place like Svalbard, although its incredibly beautiful, even in the dark.
It’s what you feel and don’t see that disrupts, challenges and resonates on the deepest level.
MOUNTAIN CLOUDS
Land of the midday moon
Slippery blackness.
Dark season.
Time is the same.
Day darkness merges into night darkness.
Silence is loud.
Boot chains echo in the valley of coal.
She dances above.
Flickering in her white and grey dress.
Like a ghostly shadow above the mountain clouds.
78 degrees North.
Pillowy softness full of sparkle.
Footsteps submerged.
Nose hairs feel like crispy sticks.
The swirling chill is ahead and approaching.
Deep breath. Stand firm.
It passes. Engulfing and violent.
Prussian blue sky.
This otherness is closing.
Shifting senses and burning eyes.
A nocturnal beast.
Sketchbook - flight from Svalbard to Oslo January 2019
Fragmented Landscape #1
Oil on Canvas
5 elements 300 x 300 mm each
Leaving Svalbard from Longyearbyen to Oslo on – January 18th 2019. Writing and sketching under the glare of the aircrafts artificial light. Desperately trying to capture the memory of darkness before re- entering the light.
Fragmented Landscape #1 ( Detail)
Oil on Canvas
1 of 5 elements 300 x 300 mm each
Fragmented Landscape #1 ( Detail)
Oil on Canvas
2 of 5 elements 300 x 300 mm each
Sketchbook - Flight from Svalbard to Oslo
Leaving Svalbard from Longyearbyen to Oslo on – January 18th 2019. Writing and sketching under the glare of the aircrafts artificial light. Desperately trying to capture the memory of darkness, the thresholds, before re- entering the light.
Svalbard #3
1800 mm x 900 mm
Oil on canvas
Part of the Svalbard series that explores, layers, containment and fragmentation of the fragile arctic environment.
Svalbard #4
Dyptich ( left panel)
Oil on Canvas
3020mm x 1030mm
Part of the Svalbard series, this work explores containment, layers and fragmentation under a Prussian blue sky. Abstract forms reference the fragile arctic landscapes.
Svalbard #4
Dyptich (Right panel)
Oil on Canvas
3020mm x 1030mm
Part of the Svalbard series, this work explores containment, layers and fragmentation under a Prussian blue sky. Abstract forms reference the fragile arctic landscapes.
Svalbard #4
Dyptich
Oil on Canvas
3020mm x 1030mm
Part of the Svalbard series, this work explores containment, layers and fragmentation under a Prussian blue sky. Abstract forms reference the fragile arctic landscapes.