In August 2023 we lived and worked on the remote island Skomvær as part of the RØST Artist in Recidency.
We were north of the arctic circle on this remote island, surrounded by the noise of a sheep heard, the fog between the mountains and the crisp ocean air.
Skomvær, the island in northern Norway, five hours from the nearest mainland in the Atlantic sea.
The land is 3,6 km wide and held by a ring of crystal rocks. Skomvær hosts an old lighthouse with its additional barns and workers houses. Skomvær means foaming weather which has its reasons. Together we two have spent a month in solitude out there, working on the maintenance of this special land while making art. Life was different from what we experience incities. We lived off rainwater, washed ourselves in the ocean, baked our own bread, harvested from the small arctic garden or from the ocean and waited patiently for a boat to access the island with new supplies. The ground is covered in sedge, a long, persistent type of grass. The landscape is hilly and the soil sandy. The nights can’t become dark during midsummer and in late summer the twilight lights up the sky. Living out there meant a different time schedule. The day was not monitored by the clock. Suddenly hours pass by slower, routines are shaped by patience and a day seems endless. Besides from sustaining the land and working on ideas, thinking, writing and exchanging with each other, nothing much happens.
Naturally we were exposed to the weather and behave after it.
We found ourselves in this space, sitting by the window or outside on the hills while observing and sensing the weather. The changes were rapid and extreme. We tryed to understand where we are through understanding the weather. The salt from the ocean flew in the air, landed on our skin and tasted in our mouths. The wind bend the long grass and made it dance. The rocks eroded from the ruff sea, every day a little bit more. On sunny, cloudless days the blue sky merged with and fell into the horizon. The dense morning fog embraced us. The bright sunshine made the water glitter in the far distance and the sound of muted stillness got disrupted by strong winds which made our hair fly. Weather was constantly present there. The island depends on the it. We experienced the sensation of the arctic air and water and the unfamiliar palette of plants, animals, landforms and sounds. While we were isolated the rest of the world was experiencing other extreme weather conditions, such as massive floods, even inside Norway, just a few kilometres away from us.
This notion became so present to us that we feel the desire to capture and collect our weather impressions, in the location we find ourselves.
We were north of the arctic circle on this remote island, surrounded by the noise of a sheep heard, the fog between the mountains and the crisp ocean air.
Skomvær, the island in northern Norway, five hours from the nearest mainland in the Atlantic sea.
The land is 3,6 km wide and held by a ring of crystal rocks. Skomvær hosts an old lighthouse with its additional barns and workers houses. Skomvær means foaming weather which has its reasons. Together we two have spent a month in solitude out there, working on the maintenance of this special land while making art. Life was different from what we experience incities. We lived off rainwater, washed ourselves in the ocean, baked our own bread, harvested from the small arctic garden or from the ocean and waited patiently for a boat to access the island with new supplies. The ground is covered in sedge, a long, persistent type of grass. The landscape is hilly and the soil sandy. The nights can’t become dark during midsummer and in late summer the twilight lights up the sky. Living out there meant a different time schedule. The day was not monitored by the clock. Suddenly hours pass by slower, routines are shaped by patience and a day seems endless. Besides from sustaining the land and working on ideas, thinking, writing and exchanging with each other, nothing much happens.
Naturally we were exposed to the weather and behave after it.
We found ourselves in this space, sitting by the window or outside on the hills while observing and sensing the weather. The changes were rapid and extreme. We tryed to understand where we are through understanding the weather. The salt from the ocean flew in the air, landed on our skin and tasted in our mouths. The wind bend the long grass and made it dance. The rocks eroded from the ruff sea, every day a little bit more. On sunny, cloudless days the blue sky merged with and fell into the horizon. The dense morning fog embraced us. The bright sunshine made the water glitter in the far distance and the sound of muted stillness got disrupted by strong winds which made our hair fly. Weather was constantly present there. The island depends on the it. We experienced the sensation of the arctic air and water and the unfamiliar palette of plants, animals, landforms and sounds. While we were isolated the rest of the world was experiencing other extreme weather conditions, such as massive floods, even inside Norway, just a few kilometres away from us.
This notion became so present to us that we feel the desire to capture and collect our weather impressions, in the location we find ourselves.
Woven grass, textile, braided grass,
experimental food
experimental food
