Arctic Circle Expedition 2016

SO the big news everyone is that I have been invited among a select group of artists and scientists worldwide to participate in The Arctic Circle Residency Programme in October 2016 for three weeks around the remote and northern Archipelago of Svalbard. I found out I was selected for this unique trip back in June of last year but it´s only recently that I have started to prepare for this amazing trip and start to plan the funding side of things!

Arctic Circle Website

I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity as not only is it a place that will deeply influence and enrich my practice, it is also a place I have wanted to venture to for a long time because of the unique landscape and impressive geological wonders. For three weeks the other residents and I will sail together on an ice class barkentine tallship exploring Svalbard, a High Arctic archipelago just ten degrees from the North Pole, creating, collaborating, observing and documenting as we go.

This residency is incredibly important to me as it is in Svalbard where the effects of progressive climate change are the most apparent and where wildlife and the sea ice is significantly under threat. It is a place of wonder yet fragility and I find it important for my practice to record the shifting of the landscapes and the effects that global warming is inflicting on the Arctic.

I aim to record, document, and build up a large body of new drawings/ paintings, prints and photographs all made on the voyage through the Arctic and all directly connected to the place and what I observe whilst on the expedition. I hope to instill love for the landscapes in people so they too can be inspired to conserve this place that is significant to our future as a whole.

Here is one of the press releases with some more information on my upcoming trip! Dundee University

Anyway, the reason for this post is that, I NEED ALL OF YOUR HELP!

Even though I’ve been awarded this unique residency, I still must raise funds for expenses related to this expedition. I must raise £4,300 to join the residency which will cover all of the expenses on the expedition and secure my place. The remaining funding will go towards travel costs to and from Longyearben, cold weather clothing and art materials which will be used to make new work on the residency.

By supporting me on this project, not only will you be investing in me and an important expedition but you will also receive unique benefits by funding this project! Any donation from you will go a long way in realising this opportunity.

To support me and invest in this significant project please click on this link for my indiegogo campaign and watch the video!

Reaching The Pole

If you are interested in helping but unable to donate, please share this with your friends and social circles. Any additional exposure I can get is an immense help!

Thank you all so much in advance!

 

Week 8

My last week as artist in residence at Nes is coming to an end and it’s brought with it even more snow here in the far North of Iceland.

The week started off with a trip to the amazingly located Grettislaug hot pool which is right in the north and in among a beautiful vista looking out to the mysterious Island of Drangey. We spent a few hours in the hot pool soaking in the geothermal water and taking in the sights of the snowy fjord around us. It was a clear day and on the way back we witnessed the most spectacular Icelandic sunset lighting up the epic mountains around us a bright pink colour. The infamous blue hour passed and the huge moon rose over the mountains creating an atmospheric ride back! The rest of the week has passed by quite quickly with snow blizzards and high winds forcing a lot of us to stay indoors, it has been fine for me as I’ve been able to finish off all of my art work that I have produced throughout my time as artist in residence but the need to get outside here and make the most of the surroundings is calling.

There was a team of people from the Akureyri Art Museum who came to visit, we had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner, I managed to go on a few walks while the snow laid around me and spent a great deal of time with the other wonderful artists here. The sun rise is getting later and later every day here in the North, for example today the sun didn’t rise until 10:55am and that’s even if you get to see the sun. As it has been so snowy this week, there has been a distinct lack of the sunshine in the sky, I’m not complaining though the sky here is so heavy and when it’s truly dark you can witness storms out to sea. One main thing I have realized since moving to Iceland is the weight of the sky and the landscape around me here. Everything is more intense, heightened and atmospheric because we are living so close to nature and the ocean, it is present here always and we are very much shaped by the land instead of us trying to change it. Almost everything is weather dependent and I know I’ll experience this more and more throughout my dark winter here.

We had a heavy amount of snow to finish the week off and had my last opið hús at Nes on Saturday. This is a monthly event where we open up our studio to the public and invite everyone to come in to have a look at what we have been up to in the month, it’s quite an informal event but it’s a really good way of connecting with the locals and putting our work made here in residence out to the wider public. 

One of my last days ended with a walk to the south beach in the town while the snow fell around me gently. Just a short walk from our studio there is a beautiful ice lagoon where the ice slabs are carried off into the ocean sometime washing up on the black sand beach which surrounds it. The winter sun shone and then another snow blizzard came in just as quick as it left.

It’s been a tough weekend saying bye to a lot of the other artists who are leaving this month, I have been here in Skagastrond for over 8 weeks now and I can honestly say it has flown in. It has definitely been an immersive and intense experience surrounded by such talented people and an incredible environment with which to work in and also to get constant inspiration from. I’m moving on now to Akureyri and then to Ólafsfjörður to start my 3 month long period at Listhus Artspace. I was awarded the Skammdegi Air Award which translates to dark winter among 20 other artists from around the world! I’m looking forward to getting started with this residency and to be based further North but also feel strange about leaving Skagastrond after such an intense time here. The town is so small so you really get to know it through and through!

Anyway here is some photos from my last week here at Nes and for my next blog I’ll be giving an update on my new temporary home in Ólafsfjörður and my first week at Listhus!

 

Iceland: Finished work

I’m in the midst of my final week here as Artist in Residence at Nes and in the process of finishing up my drawings and paintings made here. It’s been an experimental couple of months and I have realized in my work how much I am directly inspired from the landscape and environment around me including the colours, line and textures.

Here’s a preview of some of the finished work I have made here, all work is mixed medium and includes drawings and paintings. I’ve definitely found that I have made the most of my time here as artist in residence and the brilliant studio facilities and location that come with it! I hope you like the work and if you have any questions about particular pieces please do get in touch at my email ellisoconnor@hotmail.co.uk

Also, if you would like to view my full portfolio of all work made here so far in Iceland please head on over to my website, speak soon!

Artist Expedition to the Northern Isles with the Clipperton Project

So I’m very happy to announce that my kickstarter project for my Artist’s Expedition to the Northern Isles with the Clipperton Project was fully funded with 29 backers and raising a brilliant 1,057. Thank you to all who backed the project, any art work/ prints and photographs will be made on board the expedition and then depending on what the backer pledged, will receive the work by September!

Anyway, I have just arrived in Shetland, met the Clipperton Project Crew and have just started my months Artist Residency around the Northern Isles with them bound around all the smaller remote Islands. I am so thrilled to be a part of this project knowing that not only I will gain a lot from this experience, but my art work will also in a new way.
The aim of the Journey is to focus on sustainable living, highlight small remote communities and how they are affected in these areas, show the vast and dominant presence of the landscapes that many people never get to see and also document my journey and voyage through these places!

I am going to have limited service on the boat and around the Islands for the next month so I am going to wait until I am back in August to do proper blog posts detailing my time and work made!

So until then to follow my day to day progress follow me on instagram, ellisoconnor or twitter, @ellisoconnor1