Janine van Veen is an artist from the Netherlands who works with video and performance art. She was an artist-in-residence in September 2025.
“I went to Iceland with my own polka-dotted van (for those interested: inspired by Pippi Longstocking’s horse and the work of Yayoi Kusama). After one week of slow traveling, I arrived at the Fish Factory Creative Centre in Stöðvarfjörður. The Fish Factory became my home base.
I work with my body in dialogue with the landscape, so at the beginning of the residency I researched potential film locations. I received helpful tips about the surroundings and did location scouting both by van and on foot. Wanting to make the most of my time in Iceland, I created an extensive overview plan using all the collected input for my video ideas.
During the following weeks, I monitored the weather several times a day – rain, wind, sun, tides. I knew exactly which type of weather I needed for each video, with which camera, costume and location. When the moment was right, I went out to film; when it wasn’t, I returned and tried again another day. In between, I worked at the sewing machine or in the metal workshop.
Some casual moments:
I met three visiting volcanologists who told me about a unique magma mountain they were researching; it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. To get there, I walked for three hours with all my gear to launch a drone from a steep magma slope with rolling stones, where I lost my drone and later found it again. Because I wasn’t in the shot, I made this six-hour trip twice.
I sanded a large saw for hours until it produced sound, dragged my 30-meter-long red dress up a mountain, screamed at growling landscapes, and felt sick after tumbling on a black sand beach – ending up lying down while half naked young men did a photoshoot in front of my parked van.
I danced wildly with my fellow residents on several evenings, sang musical theatre songs at karaoke, shared meals, and exchanged inspiration, inner necessity and life experiences.
My time in Iceland was an adventure, and I loved every second of it.
My artistic research was partly about loneliness but what I found was connection, with my fellow artists and with the land(scape). Without the facilities and people at this residency, I would not have been able to create the seven videos I made. I am deeply grateful for this experience.”