Coriander Focus
Coriander Focus is a full time creator, working in multimedia photography and written word. She spent her youth deep in the mountains of rural Appalachia where her love of wild places was cultivated. Out of that passion comes original art and poetry inspired by the natural world and its influence on our internal experience. Coriander explores work that tells a story about how we relate to ourselves and our bodies.
During my time at the Fish factory in Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland I developed three different photographic explorations.
My housemate and fellow artist Ronja Lamberty and I immediately felt a connection on wanting to learn more about the 150 people who were sharing their village with us. Together, we interviewed and photographed nine people asking about their experience of life in the village and three possessions they felt a connection to. We put together a gallery wall of our project displaying images of the subjects and the items they hold dear for the cohort's open house. Learning more about the village and rural Iceland through their lived history was a humbling experience.
I created several scripted photoshoots using Iceland's landscape and other imagery from the island. Whale bones, reindeer antlers, shells and driftwood. I focused on exploring the connection between the human body and the landscape, and created striking imagery of powerful women in tandem with the beauty of the mountains and water. These images would not have been possible without the support from the team who work at and volunteer for the Fish Factory.
Last, throughout the month I fully immersed myself in the beauty of everything around me, photographing moments big and small of the natural world, capturing the sun as it tracked differently through the sky and the fjords as they changed from day to day. Having the opportunity to show the subtle shifts with my lens was an incredible experience and not something to be taken lightly.
Over the course of a month I took almost six thousand photos, made amazing friendships, created art, and learned so much more deeply about Eastern Iceland. I hope to return and revisit the fjords that I went running outside to photograph in my pajamas every morning for a month.
