cannibal geology

so today is the conclusion of my first week here in Iceland. i'm already feeling like one month isn't enough. however, this residency is a blessing and i hope to make the most of this space and time. i definetely feel now that i am on the downward slope of my trip. the time difference is becoming less between the US, while it grows bigger from the mainland of Scandinavia. i only have two more countries to go before returning to the United States, but honestly once i am back on the North American continent and don't have any more ocean to cross, it'll be a big relief.

as i mentioned before, i am currently staying in an apartment at an old milk factory that was converted into artist's studios a few years ago. three other people are living here with me: Marina, a painter from Germany who has been travelling around Iceland since May, and a couple from Finland, Ari and Heini, a sculptor and painter (respectively). Marina and I immediately got along, and have been kind of a team as far as eating breakfast and going to the swimming pool and the art store goes. she brought her own car by ferry from Germany, which has been a godsend for me - this place as i may have mentioned, is 10km outside of town. it takes two buses to get here, 280 kr each way - nearly 5 dollars.

here's where i'd like to do the requisite complaining about how expensive Iceland is. so, it's clear that this being an island, pretty much everything except fish and hydroelectricity is imported. but for example, i went to the art store today and bought: 2 faber-castell mechanical pencils, once white gum eraser, one glue stick, one tube of guache and one line brush, and it came to $25. i mean i guess that's not so bad, but it's actually difficult to leave the house without spending $10....ANYWAY, it would be pointless to be too cheap when it comes to stuff here, since my place of living was relatively inexpensive and Iceland is a country about DOING STUFF, like going out into remote nature driving over gravel roads for hundreds of kilometers and not seeing another human for days while you camp out next to volcanic formations. or, at the very least, going to the many public pools here and doing it like the locals do, keepin healthy through the magic waters they have here. the water that comes out of the tap here is some of the best in the world, and when you put on the warm water, it smells like sulfur, because it comes straight out of the earth!

here are some photos of some of the stuff i've been doing. i'll have to post photos of the building i'm staying in later, since i forgot to take some for some reason. i must also add two more free-roaming animals i've tasted to the list here in Iceland: lobster soup, and lamb at Una's....


the harbor in Reykjavik, the last sunny day i saw


driving to Korpúlfsstaðir. a small fjord is directly across from our factory


view from the front door








i saw some a-r-t at this wonderful place called Safn, an old house filled with an amazing contemporary art collection from the past 30 years on three floors, including a library and reading room. they have rotating exhibits too. anyway, this piece made great looped sounds and had lots of flashy lights and was next to a beautiful Cindy Sherman print and i forgot to write down the name of the artist, but he/she was Icelandic...




this is Una, a pal from CalArts and ladyfriend of my dear friend Miles. i'd like to take this opportunity to thank Una for being the person to tell me about this residency months back, and also for being such a sweet pal around town when she's not busy working at the animation studio!


me Una Eva and Marina after dinner at our house


yesterday afternoon, Marina decided she needed to visit the waterfall Gullfoss immediately to take some images to work from. we ended up pretty much seeing everything in the Golden Circle and didn't get home till midnight. excellent!


route 1




this is Þingvallavatn, the lake on whose northernmost shore Iceland's parliament, the Alþingi used to convene. Alþingi still exists and is one of the oldest parlimentary insitutions in the world.


Gullfoss











after the epic wetness of Gullfoss, we backtracked to the geysirs of Haukadalur. the big one here, Geysir, is the one the whole geological phenomena is named after.





the geysir Strokkur


it erupts pretty much every 5 mintes




everything smells like sulfur





the last stop on the way was Þingvellir, where we checked out the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. here, the continental drift is clearly visible




some crazy soft moss on the "American" plate


the little valley between the two plates at twilight


we had a crazy photoshoot as the light faded


cave. when you walked on certain parts of the path, it could clearly be heard that the earth was hollow there !



i'm gonna stop here. it's nearly 3am and i'm beat from a day of spending too much money and swimming lots in the Reykjavik swimming pool/going into the "hot pots" (hot pools). if i missed anything i'll retroactively update i guess. goodnight!