This winter’s February group residency is well over and we are looking back at a fantastic week together with a great group of creatives in our Fjord! Our group consisted of 8 international artists from Belgium, Holland, America, Denmark, Scotland, Iceland and The UK, they worked in various art fields: music, performance, mixed art, collage, painting, photography and curating. This year’s winter residency had a more curated schedule than usual: live music performances by our very own SHHE, daily morning-yoga by Isobel Grad and Enneagram self-discovery courses by Janne Kristensen. Mixed up with daily vegetarian meals, hikes and a great, winter wonderland excursion to Isafjorður. The many group activities and their deepening content brought us all closer to some essential human truths - a pretty magical experience to ave together! We are very grateful for the time we got to share with this group of wonderful, creative souls!
Janne, Su & Isobel
Catriona McAra (Scotland)
Catriona McAra is a curator and writer currently working on her second book, a study of Leonora Carrington’s significance in contemporary art, literature, and performance, including the novels and curatorial work of Chloe Aridjis and Heidi Sopinka, and editing an essay collection on the geological aesthetics of Ilana Halperin. For this residency, Catriona was keen to explore the landscapes of Iceland, primarily as groundwork for her research on Halperin but also as a scholarly sanctuary that would embody Sopinka's animal artist turned acoustic biologist, Ivory Frame. In doing so, Catriona felt a further closeness with the Aridjis family's environmental activism, and the need to chase the ever elusive Arctic fox.
Rachel Wardenburg (USA)
Rachel is an Iowa born, Los Angeles based interdisciplinary artist. During the residency she explored themes of chronic pain and illness, vulnerability, and the queer body. She produced video performances and refined concepts to be developed into a larger series of sensory installations. "The body has always been integral to my work as medium, subject and object. The body is the tangible intersection of our consciousness with the world. I'm interested in movement as a primal language that has the ability to transcend spoken communication." In the spirit of community and participation, Rachel also created a series of tiny hand bound books, personalized for each individual attending the residency.
Ditte Darko (Denmark)
“I’m a psychologist, journalist and collage artist. I have a great love for the Icelandic color palette. At my stay at the Westfjords Residency I did a lot of experiments with video and visual storytelling. I also worked on a series of collage artworks inspired by the nature and beautiful landscapes of Thingeyri. I feel that living so close to nature did something amazing for my creativity.”
Coby Sey (UK)
Coby is a a musician and DJ playing many instruments both acoustic and electronic. During the residency he dove into the local instrument museum and found use of some of the instruments there (langspil among other things) for music pieces he created. After the residency he played many of these recordings on his NTS radio show, available here: https://www.nts.live/shows/coby-sey/episodes/coby-sey-29th-february-2020
Will Schneider (UK)
“I came to the residency with a few ideas but without a specific goal or project in mind. I had never done anything like this before. It was fantastic to feel so connected to people in such an isolated place. The guided parts of the residency were very beneficial to me, and I am feeling more at peace with myself and in continuing to work on what interests me.”
During the residency, Will composed a piece of music that he played for the group on the Friday bar night.
Ingeborg Lossie (Holland)
Ingeborg is a freelance translator into Dutch with an BA in photography from Nottingham (NTU). During the residency, Ingeborg shot portrait pictures of all the participants. She wandered around the fjord and took many landscape photographs as well as getting involved in local activities in Þingeyri. Amongst other skills Ingeborg learned how to make the tasty, Icelandic rúgbrauð during her stay with us in Þingeyri.
Guðbjörg Línd Jónsdóttir
Guðbjörg is an Icelandic painter with roots in the Westfjords, in fact she owns her own house in Þingeyri. During the residency Guðbjörg enjoyed some self-discovery time and reflected on the enneagram types in paintings using her usual historic touch blended with a new twist. Guðbjörg is known for her stunning landscape paintings that become psychological wallpaper of inner states of human peace. She also hosted a performance in her house where all participants could send their wish for the future through her chimney.
Tony Baka (Belgium)
Tony spent the whole month of February in The Westfjords Residency and took part in the group residency as part of his one-month individual stay. Tony got himself very involved in the social and cultural activities in our village, Þingeyri, but also in Isafjorður. Toni is involved in multidisciplinary artistic projects inspired by local people and nature, more specific in the creation of kokedamas and terrariums. He hosted several workshops for kids and adults in our village and in Isafjorður. Besides that, Tony, spent a lot out time outdoors taking great photographs during his stay.