Due North

“North” is a space upon which we project our desire for raw wilderness, for solitude, and the terrifying beauty of the sublime. Both real and imagined, Iceland, from an outsider’s perspective is viewed as exotic, treacherous, mythical and supernatural. In wintertime, darkness and brutal winds prevail; there is a turning inwards as one battles the elements. As foreigners, travelling together in February 2013, we both viscerally and physically explored Iceland’s unforgiving landscape and its inherent narratives.
Taking cues from our Nordic counterparts, participants opened themselves to qualities found at the very heart of Icelandic art making: a wild independence, reverence for untamed nature, ancient and intimate links to the sea, a sense of mystery and unquiet stillness in everyday life, and paradoxical qualities of the land (black and white; fire and ice).

Shaped daily by an elemental landscape in flux, Icelandic artists embody and channel the energies of the land. As travelers, we allowed this geology to reshape the terra incognita of our imaginations, a journey of the mind and heart.

Marianne Bernstein, curator
Philagrafika Projects
October, 2013

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Presented by Philagrafika with support from Icelandair, Iceland Naturally, the Independence Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Crane Arts, and NextFab.