A multimodal collaboration between artists, writers, and scholars. This piece emerged from an expedition to the Arctic archipelago as part of the Arctic Circle Residency in Autumn 2022.
Salt. Water. Obstruction.
Jacinda Russell
I was diagnosed with COVID-19 five hours after setting sail on an expedition boat in the Svalbard Archipelago in May 2022. I was immediately sentenced to quarantine in a 10’ × 20’ cabin for seven nights. Sick and at a loss, I stared out the window for hours watching polar bear footprints recede into the horizon, a walrus emerge in the wake, and geography lacking name or direction unveil itself before me.
In October 2022, I returned as an Arctic Circle Artist in Residence, spending two weeks on a barquentine sailing vessel breathing the outside air that I was denied five months earlier. I quickly realized the ladder to reach the zodiacs was outside my cabin porthole and I photographed my shipmates as they descended, paused and departed for land.
By focusing on the salty and icy glass, I intentionally referenced the deteriorating negatives from 19th century polar expeditions, those where the elements marred the film before development or the slow exposures blurred the subjects. This obstruction does not hide the frustration nor the anticipation of pandemic and environmental loss, marking every nautical mile traveled.
Salt. Water. Obstruction., Archival pigment prints, 42” x 60”, 2022.
Archival pigment prints
14” × 12”
2022
The author declares they have no competing interests.
Cars on Unnamed Road, Adventfjorden
Osceola Refetoff
Cars on Unnamed Road, Multispectral Exposure, Adventfjorden, 2022.
NOTE: Multispectral exposures are made with photographic equipment that is sensitive to both visual and infrared spectrums, creating vivid and otherworldly color combinations in camera using various archaic filters in front of the lens.
The author declares they have no competing interests.
No Easy Way Into Another World
Terhi Nieminen
No Easy Way Into Another World, Digital photograph, dimensions variable, 2023.
My model airplane stands on the snow in the boat harbour, against the backdrop of the dark season’s landscape. The image appears blurry, for the lack of sunlight can cause near-sightedness. During the winter months I often played alone with the airplane, which doesn’t have an engine, and is incapable of flying.
A Defeat Is Better Than Nothing At All
>Terhi Nieminen
A Defeat Is Better Than Nothing At All, Digital photograph, dimensions variable, 2023.
Sometimes a vehicle breaks down while crossing the snowy desert, on the way to another frozen resort. Touching the surface of the Lynx with bare hands can cause a burning sensation. Here, the Sun has given up on its attempts to set below the horizon.
The author declares they have no competing interests.
Helke, Hornbækpollen 79° 36.2’ N 012° 38.7’ E
Paula Sćiuk
Helke, Hornbakpollen 79° 36.2’ N 012° 38.7’ E, Ultrachrome ink on polycarbonate, 2022.
October 9, 2022, 3:27pm, -1° C, foggy, wet, day length: 8:20:01 Sailing through narrow entrance, upper and lower topsail, no engine Snow blankets ships deck and tornado, craggy peaks disappear into milky brume