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Iceland

The video piece is called 'Fish Freezing Plant' and was created during an artists residency I undertook in 2009, in Northern Iceland, sponsored by the Irish Arts Council. The residency took place in a small fishing village called Skagastrond, situated on a northerly peninsula close to the Arctic circle. This video piece revolves around an abandoned fishing plant in the village, which housed the workshops for many fishing boats over a time period of at least 50 years. Legend has it that the building is haunted by the ghosts of drowned fishermen. The village itself has many derelict buildings and factories due to the disappearance of the fish shoals during the 1980's, and the current economic turmoil in the country. This video piece explores the mood I found in the town, and more specifically in this building, and is also inspired by the Aurora Borealis which streamed overhead on many nights. The building featured in the piece has seen countless lives, tragedies, successes and failures. The audio track for this piece contains sounds recorded by myself and also features a sample from Icelandic band Múm. The print works are also based on the fishing village, and feature some of the disheveled and abandoned structures scattered around the landscape. I was heavily influenced by the pervading sense of mythology and superstition in Iceland, and the magical results this had on viewing the lanscape there.