Work > Arctic

In October 2022, I was one of 29 participants, along with four guides and a crew of seven, in the Arctic Circle Art & Science Expeditionary Residency in and around the Svalbard Archipelago. The following images include documents of gestures while in the Arctic and work-in-progress thoughts that I continue to elaborate.

Originally scheduled for October of 2021 after years of planning, the expedition was postponed 10 days before I was to leave due to covid related international border restrictions. With a backpack of gear and no plans to be anywhere else, I decided to explore the Arctic on my own, delving deeper into research to honor the time of the expedition. Following a whim of “evidence of glaciers near me,” I explored the glacial significance of the nearby, touching the edges of once polar regions, learning more about glaciers through their remnants and gouges, studying water, ice, and stones to gain better understanding of geologic time and change.

My preparations through research, imagining, and an embodied practice of the Arctic equipped me for the actual expedition in surprising ways. Unfortunately, I had not practiced a return. An informal residency invitation to the Westfjords of Iceland in Summer 2024, followed by a Humanities Center Fellowship September 2024 - April 2025 will offer a return to the Arctic of both mind and experience, and an exploration of this missing transition.