Introducing Gabriele Glang, a German-American artist and bilingual poet from southern Germany, who spent the month of August at the Fish Factory. All her life, she has practiced both painting and writing, her creative work comprising both the visual and the literary. “The artist’s book is the perfect medium for me: a marriage between the written word and the image.”

Her German poetry debut, Goettertage, fictional monologues of the German Expressionist painter Paula Modersohn-Becker, was published in 2017 by Kloepfer & Meyer (Tuebingen). In addition to her work as screenwriter and translator, she taught creative writing in English at the University of Applied Sciences in Esslingen for many years. A painter and maker of artist’s books, her works have been published and exhibited widely in Europe and the US.

Her residency in Stödvarfjödur, part of a six-week journey circumnavigating the Icelandic coast, gave her the opportunity to gather impressions for a new body of work. At the Fish Factory she developed a visual language to express her responses to the sensory input of landscape and atmosphere of Iceland.

Foraging in and around the premises, as well as outdoors during walks on the heath and shoreline, Gabriele collected found objects from which she made mark-making tools, working in various water media, making artist’s books, collaging, and journaling about her impressions back in the studio.

Visit her website for more of her work: www.gabrieleglang.de 

or

Instagram to see recent work: gabrieleglang

Thanks, Gabi! :)

Meet Gabi Maynard, an artist and digital creator. She stayed with us in August.

“I recently completed my digital media studies at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, focusing on graphic design. Although I’ve created a lot of digital work, I still have a strong passion for traditional, analog media.

Initially I was planning on just pursuing printmaking at the factory, but reflecting on my time at the residency I’m surprised by how much I ended up experimenting with various mediums. I drew and painted more than I usually do, and discovered a new technique and style to my prints that I want to continue working on. Going to a brand new place by myself right after college was definitely nerve-wracking at first, but I’m very glad I did it. I think the experience has definitely helped me navigate what kind of artist I want to be moving forward and what I want to create.”

Visit her website for more of her work:

https://readymag.com/gsmaynardart/arte/

Thanks, Gabi! :)

Introducing Daisy Allen, an artist born and bred in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Daisy currently works in London, where her creative practice includes photography, illustration, art direction, and painting murals. We got to know Daisy in July, when she was here with only one other artist. She used this time to work on her personal projects, such as creating an art calendar with the help of visual backgrounds (on Zoom! :).

Daisy brought an airbrush, and she experimented with this machine, mimicking and recreating tattoo designs. She’s also a tattoo artist, and if you want to get stick-and-poked, you can catch her in London! Daisy is always on the lookout, searching for walls where she can paint murals, and she found one in Stöðvarfjörður at our Factory. Daisy got inspired while chit-chatting with the locals, relaxing in the local hot tub. That’s how the heitur pottur idea was born.

Daisy also worked with clay, creating different pieces, such as a candle holder and a small coffee cup. We also drove up to Seyðisfjörður for annual LungA festival!

To see more of Daisy’s work, visit her website:

https://www.daisyallen.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/_daisy_allen_/

Thank you, Daisy! :)

Edie is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Cornwall, UK. Her work shifts between film and animation to installation and costume for live performance.

‘I was drawn to the extreme, remote landscapes and harsh climates of Iceland, which have shaped the century-old mythology and its need for story. I used my two months in the fish factory to explore Icelandic folklore, making costumes and set to shoot my first reel of super8 film, which I plan to release in the upcoming months along with an analogue soundtrack which I recorded in the surrounding hills.’

Suzanne Yeremyan is a visual artist with a focus in experimental mixed-media abstraction.

During her attendance in the month of March, Suzanne spent the days outdoors and in the landscape, taking advantage of the fleeting window of daylight. Walking, searching, and observing is a crucial part of her process. Upon evening, she would then enter the studio and work into the late night. Suzanne opted to attend during the peak of Icelandic winter, as the harsh weather and unforgiving landscape observed in isolation immensely informs her work.

She aims to represent often overlooked visual subjects found in the natural world. Inspired by organic patterns, textures, and movement, her pieces are what she calls “homages” and result in something along the lines of abstract portraiture or detail studies.

Utilizing self-made solvents, washes, and pigments, her process often involves combining reactive elements and results in textures that have been described as caustic, and striking in detail.

For more, visit her website:

suzanneyeremyan.art

or follow her on instagram:

hellpix

Thanks, Suzanne! :)

Uncertain Studio is made up of Taiwanese artists Tao Chiang and Yen-Ting Tseng (a.k.a. Kappa). Coming from a theatre design background, they combine Tseng’s experiments in object theatre with Chiang’s ambient and aleatoric soundscapes to create spatial works that act as both performance and installation pieces. In their earlier collaborations, dramatic characters are replaced by daily objects to create mini-scale technical theatre with low-tech aesthetics, constructing portraits and narratives of human experience through the poetic utilization of objects and sounds which are, in themselves, lifeless.

In more recent years, they have been questioning the nature of performing arts, looking into the performative aspects of board games, workshops, and tourism to find new ways to discuss real world issues in a creative setting.

While at the Fish Factory, Tao experimented with sounds in our concert hall, ending his exploration with a performance and show-and-tell at the end of June. He gathered sounds and voices during the month and combined them into one long, wonderful, and relaxing soundscape.

Kappa researched the history of East Iceland and its industrial advances. She sees similarities between the islands of Taiwan and Iceland. She has created a map of East Iceland, its villages, population, etc., and provided an interesting overview of the area in a different light.

Check more of their work on their website: https://uncertainstudio.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Tao & Kappa! :)

Their stay was sponsored by National Culture and Arts Foundation (Taiwan) and Department of Cultural Affairs Taipei City Government.

We are introducing Gabe Duggan, an artist whose works bridge the realms of creativity and emotion. Gabe’s creations move boundaries, as they invite us to look at ordinary things with different eyes. Gabe’s versatility is shown through different mediums and techniques, and textile and technology provide a reliable foundation for Gabe’s work.

While at the Fish Factory, Gabe created a temporary installation in collaboration with the environment. Gabe’s recent work (WAS HERE, 2022; RECOHERE, 2021) was constructed of a synthetic, ballistic material, but in Stöðvarfjörður, Gabe worked with a naturally biodegradable material, cotton. Gabe drew large-scale lines across the land, which formed the word VISKUBIT.

One month of tedious but therapeutic work has ended with us walking about the cotton lines and following the direction of the letters, which are still imprinted into the fjord’s raw vegetation. The whole layout can be observed with a drone or even by satellite. The letters are slowly disappearing as the summer will soon end and snow will cover the banks where Gabe walked, thus ending the work whose self-destruction was the core impetus for its creation in the first place.

Visit her website for more of her work: w

Thanks, Gabe!

Eve is a visual artist from Rotherham, now based in Manchester. While at the Fish Factory, she explored Icelandic folklore and embodied creatures such as the Huldufólk by creating masks and incorporating local and natural materials into a full-body outfit.

She is fascinated by masks and performance, and she brought the roots of ancient stories alive through this medium. She created with paper mache, as working with such a simple material as paper represents to her a therapeutic process.

She hand-sculpted a few ceramic pieces and dipped them in a rusty-looking alligator glaze. The pieces were shipped home in a banana box (FRAGILE!). The masks she made were tried on by fellow artists walking about the fjord hilltops, perhaps hoping for the Huldufólk to descend from the misty mountains of Stöðvarfjörður.

Check more of her work on her website: https://www.evegittins.com/

or follow her on Ig: ewegittins

Thanks, Eve! :)

Introducing Violet Roest, a visual artist from the Netherlands. Her creative journey delves into the realms of emotion, colour, and expression.

She spent the month of June here with us in Stöðvarfjörður, but she’s been to this little village, before anyone thought of recording music, spinning pottery wheels, and painting portraits in the middle of a fish processing plant. She revisited old friends and used this time to think and translate feelings into visual narratives.

She worked with 3D objects made out of clay and plaster, and that’s how a family of whales was born. She also suited up, covered her boots with wet rags, and did some metal cutting with our plasma cutter! The whales were shipped home, but some unfortunately didn’t survive the journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

“Violet sculpts whales on our fjord, and friendships old and new”. -R. R.

For more of her work visit her website: https://www.expressie.nl/violetroest/over-mij/

Thanks, Violet. :)

Kukka Pitkänen is a Finnish visual artist working mainly in the field of printmaking and drawing, and during the residency, she worked on drawings, photographing and printmaking techniques.

Her works are often connecting human and nature, and in Fish Factory she focused on a lot of nature detail research, which she transferred to her drawings.

She drew nature forms, and she multiplied and scaled them into works. She is interested into the sea and the mountains, and she took inspiration from those natural elements.

Visit her website: http://kukkapitkanen.com/

Or follow her on instagram: kukkapitkanen

Thanks, Kukka! :)

Rhonda Rosenheck is an emerging poet, writer and biblical translator. Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies and have been performed live. She lives in rural New York State, USA.

While at the Fish Factory, she worked on a translation project, and she delighted us with witty poems and ingenious verses. Rhonda offered her fellow housemates to attend her Thursday online yoga sessions, and she’s responsible for organising our equinox dinner gathering, followed by a midnight stroll up in the hills.

Publications include: The Five Books of Limericks; Sin No More! A Biblical Sea Shanty; Looking: Out, Up, In & Under Rocks; and Yiddische Yoga: OYsanas for Every Generation.

Visit Rhonda’s website for more of her work: https://www.rhondarosenheck.com/

Thanks, Rhonda! :)

Selena Unger is a multi-disciplinary artist currently based on Vancouver Island, Canada. She creates ceramic and paper mache sculptures, drawings, paintings, poetry, and installations.

Her work explores psychological phenomena as well as philosophical queries in a playful and colourful way that invites viewers to engage curiously in her chimerical constructions.

While at the Factory Selena worked on various sculptural projects creating a series of ceramic pieces titled Gastropoda, as well as two paper mache sculptures that explored dream symbols and mythical beings with connection to the location.

In addition to these projects, she also collaborated with a fellow artist in residence, Jikke Lesterhuis, by comprising a poem to accompany her animation titled “Wind Dwellers.”

For more of Selena’s work visit her website: https://selenaunger.persona.co/

or follow her on instagram @selena.unger

Thank you, Selena! :)

“I describe myself as an eco artist, because my work tries to raise the profile of the earth and climate change issues. By doing earth painting workshops where we forage for local soils and materials, and make our found pigments into paint. My aim is to show the earth in a new light, that the earth beneath our feet is a live organism not just dirt. We are totally dependent on the ‘skin of the earth’.

I managed to teach earth painting skills in the local school, and they made a phenomenal piece of work, out of the materials from their own town. It was important to me to give back to Stöðvarfjörður for all the beautiful pigments I found here.

I have loved my stay here, and would recommend staying for at least 2 months. It has provided me with the luxury of time away from home distractions, and enabled me to expand creatively. The atmosphere has been generous and friendly, with a lot of sharing of skills, from baking to IT help! It has lead to a freedom to experiment in the wide array of well equipped workshops here.”

Candide, we hope you enjoyed your stay here. :)

Take a look at her website!

https://www.candideturnerbridger.com/

Thanks,  Candide!

Elinor O’Donovan is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Cork, Ireland. Her practice references internet memes, cartoons, and film and tv tropes. Through playful sculpture, collage, drawing and installations, she teases out the ways that familiarity with common tropes in popular culture allows us to form cognitive shortcuts, influencing how we understand the world around us.

Drawing on theatre set-design, she examines the dichotomies of front-stage/back-stage, public/private space, and audience/performer. She often chooses to leave the raw materials of her work exposed, questioning what value remains when a work of art is sketchy and unformed.

At the Fish Factory, Elinor completed her first short film ‘The Immeasurable Grief of the Prawn’, which will be shown as part of a solo exhibition of new work at GeneratorProjects, Dundee, in July 2023. The film, which explores memory, knowledge and shite talk through inter-connected dialogues about prawns, has been made possible by support from the Arts Council of Ireland and Culture Moves Europe x Goethe Institute mobility funding.

For more of her work visit her website: https://elinorodonovan.com/

Thank you, Elinor! :)

Jikke Lesterhuis was born in 1997 in Enschede, the Netherlands and is currently based in Amsterdam. She works with different media such as animation (2D and 3D), field recordings & sound design, drawings, poetry and installations, making her work multidisciplinary.

She has spent the month of May 2023 with us here at the Fish Factory, working on her project titled “Wind Dwellers”, an explorative crossed media installation, oscillating between different worlds; the physical and digital domain, nature and culture, macrocosm and the microcosm, man and the universe. It explores the sensory capacity of the wind, that can be perceived by our bodies in multiple ways. The animation questions the extent to which humans can identify with the environment around us and what effect this has on our behavior and our feelings of responsibility towards the planet and the challenges it faces.

Animation

The landscape of the animation is based on topographic data of the mountains in Stöðvarfjörður, released by NASA Earth Observations (NEO).The use of raw natural materials to mimic human features highlights how man and nature are inextricably linked, and how we are more alike than we think. In fact, nature gave birth to all of us. Most of the sounds are field recordings of the area and serve as a sonic representation of Stöðvarfjörður.

Soundscape

The sound carries the story of man and nature and explores the mysterious borderland between the visible and the invisible and the audible and inaudible, touching on the spiritual and psychological aspects of consciousness. The poem binds the visual and sonic landscape and guides you through.

Sculpture

The cave is made of stitched seaweed and algae. The stitching reinforces the connection of something that was once broken but now continues to live in a new, unique, different but fragile semblance, of which we have to take care altogether to keep it from falling apart. The seaweeds transmit light, are translucent, but not transparent, and resemble a leather-like material after drying. The dried seaweeds remind us of how similar we are. The sculpture allows the audience to step into the mysterious borderland between themselves and nature. The physical movement required to view the inside of the cave shows us the way we should look at our surroundings; make ourselves a little smaller with a humble attitude and can only be touched gently. We should not take the planet for granted, as everything around us will continue to live inside of us.

‘Wind Dwellers’ arises from a deep fascination forone of nature’s most powerful yet unpredictable forces; the wind.

Please, visit her website to learn more about this unique and interesting project: https://www.jikkelesterhuis.nl/wind-dwellers

Thank you, Jikke! :)

Yini Luo, currently based in Shanghai, China, is an artist exploring the concept of reality through diverse media such as printmaking, glass casting, and natural materials installations. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Yini’s thought-provoking work has been showcased in exhibitions in China and the United States, earning her esteemed recognition, including the West Bay View Foundation Travel Grant. Her pieces are held in esteemed collections, including the Jinling Art Museum, CHAO Art Center, and private collections.

During her research in Iceland, Yini Luo found inspiration in the extreme weather conditions and the awe-inspiring natural surroundings. The rugged landscapes, lava stones, the majestic arctic ocean, and the tumultuous sounds of storms all deeply influenced her artistic perspective.

Immersed in the enchanting beauty of the East Fjords, Yini’s encounter with such diverse and captivating natural experiences forms the foundation of her Iceland art research.

Here’s a link to her website www.yiniluo.com

& check her work on instagram! https://www.instagram.com/yini_luo_/

Thank you, Yini! :)

Lorka Scher is a multi-instrumental loop artist, harpist & songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. Her songs have been described as intimate, medicinal and haunting. Drawing from her family’s experience as post-war Soviet refugees, she explores themes of belonging, cultural memory, and ancestral healing in her work.

Performing as a one woman “echo orchestra” Lorka blends breath, wordless melody, harp, cello and poetry into her songs. Through live looping, she is able to build delicate nuance and emotive detail into her work, which echoes the complexity and paradox of healing.

Lorka teamed up with Studio Silo during her residency, immersing herself in the production of a new album. She used her time to develop her skills as a producer, exploring new techniques, tools and methods while mixing part of her upcoming album. Lorka also reviewed historical footage and audio that has been part of her family’s immigration story. She began the process of archiving content that she will later combine into visual art to accompany the music.

Lorka is so grateful for the time spent in focused dedication. Big thank you to Vinny, Una and Kimmy for making it possible.

To follow along on production work, and hear Lorka’s music, please visit her online.

Instagram: @titlewillcome

Web: www.TheSpaceBetweenBreaths.com

Youtube : Lorka & The Echo Orchestra

Vimeo: Lorka & The Echo Orchestra

We invite you to take a loot at Lorka’s Song Diaries!

https://vimeo.com/660557090

Kristin Sevaldsen is a Norwegian saxophonist, composer and producer
currently working on an album trilogy. She joined us for the month of February.

You can find more from Kristin on her instagram.

The music is based on field recordings from various places, situations, scenarios and countries in
the Arctic region. The first album, The Sonic Experience -Snøhetta,
was launched in May 2022 and is about mount Snøhetta on the Dovre
barriere in Norway.

The second album is based on field recordings from Iceland which is
the reason why she came to The Fish Factory; to be able to immerse
herself in the creative work and be influenced by the Icelandic
nature, culture and society in general.

During her stay here at the Fish Factory Kristin Sevaldsen managed to
do exactly what she wanted to do, and is very satisfied with all the
work she got done. With the entire Studio Silo as a work space all to
herself, she was able to maintain an undisturbed focus on her work.

Thank you Kristin. Your focus, calm and brilliance inspired us all! Takk og bless!

LINKS:

https://www.nasjonalparkriket.no/en/snohetta-dovrefjell
Facebook.com/kristinsevaldsenartistpage

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/29tCfUDy8zTAUrnJPQUj8r?si=RKYusCtBTc6-DCHqK4EsPg

Roxane Fiore is a Canadian visual artist currently based in Iceland who draws, in chalk pastels, artworks that are inspired by her paper assemblages. Her interest lies in creating illusory spaces that move away from their original context and question the very ideas of reality and existence.

During this February residency, Roxane continued working on developing a new and coherent body of work to present during a first solo exhibition. The support of the Canada Council for the Arts is here acknowledged; their generous research and creation grant made this one-month residency possible.

Roxane’s work can be viewed on her website roxanefiore.com or via instagram (@roxanefiore).

“During my time at the residency, I started with the production of drawings that might be included in my future exhibition project. Working in this large studio space in an inspiring environment and alongside like-minded individuals was wonderful, and certainly had a positive impact on my productivity!

Apart from being a great workspace, the Fish Factory was ultimately for me the ideal environment to pause, reflect and gather new ideas, all while working on a specific project. I always find that changing context benefits me by fostering growth on both artistic and personal levels.

I was surprised at how much I was influenced by the spectacle of the northern lights during my stay. Their strong presence, power and beauty made their way into a small-scale drawing which will forever be a reminder of my intense and enriching experience at the Fish Factory. I owe a lot the other artists and musicians for making this residency a memorable one.”

Thank you Roxane- it was wonderful to have you at the Factory and we loved seeing the progress of your project. Come back soon! Takk og bless!

Amy Engelhardt is a composer/lyricist/playwright from the United States who spent the month of February 2023 at the Fish Factory. Her residency concentrated on two theatre projects as well as being instrumental in our February open house concert and contributing to a strong community spirit within the programme.

You can see more from Amy on her website.

IMPACT, a multimedia solo show with music, will premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in summer 2023. The script was revised and cello parts were written here. A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION, a collaboration with American playwright Arianna Rose is a theatrical musical about the barrier-breaking Cone sisters – the first female art collectors in the early 20^th century – and their relationship with Gertrude Stein. It explores the roles of women in art, as art and as independent members of society. Amy wrote a large chunk of the score here.

“I’m a huge Icelandophile, so spending a month in the Eastfjords was like living a dream. Being part of a multi-disciplinary cohort of artists is beyond inspirational. Our collective commitment to our individual arts creates an energy – a synergy – and almost immediate camaraderie. From the intense time “in the zone” to the gusty downpours outside, morning coffee looking at the ever-changing sky, the connections forged over tea and terrible snacks to seeing and hearing the work created here, this time was a gift in many, many ways. Tak fyrir.”

Thank you Amy for your boundless spirit and energy during your months stay. We are excited to follow your adventures to Edinburgh and beyond! Takk og bless!

Chengwei Geng (b.1998) is a visual artist based in the UK. She graduated as a Master of Arts in Painting of the RCA, London in 2021. Chengwei is the only child of a Lacanian psychoanalyst mother and a homicide detective father. During her month long stay at the Fish Factory she focussed her attention on documenting moments in time through a number of small paintings from the landscape whilst also exploring the possibilities of ceramics in our workshop.

You can see more from Chengwei from her website and on her Instagram.

Her work focuses on “Fictional Memories”, believing we all subconsciously alternate our memories to our likings or to a certain level which are bearable. “In the end, people are just disappointing.” She always says “We eventually realise we can choose what we remember and that we’ve been doing it all along. It’s not a sin if you want your life a little more romanticised.”

She’s been documenting different moments that touched her whilst here at the residency- either the ocean and mountains that humbled her or the wind that made her cry; she wishes to bring that piece of sentiment back to her love ones far away.

Not only has she been writing poems on how the moon brings our thoughts to the person under the same sky watching the same moon, but also through the abstract expressionism paintings and the ceramics with her fingers’ imprint, her longingness shows. “Imagine standing where I was or the how I sculpt the clay, I look up at the moon every night; wondering if they’ve missed me too.”

You certainly brought some sunshine into our residency Chengwei- we hope to see you again in the future!

Josie is a visual artist based in Dundee, Scotland, her practice explores perceptions of memory and place. Through intentional improvisation she creates atmospheric dreamscapes that shift between photography and painting, evoking feelings of familiarity within the abstract.

You can see more of Josie’s work on her Instagram.

I’ve loved my 2 month stay here at the fish factory. I came looking for a new environment to explore and it did not disappoint! The Factory’s atmosphere gave me an ideal place to have some perspective on my practice and think about my future as an emerging artist.

I’ve spent my time playing with materials walking in the hills and learning new things from my fellow artists. I’ve worked a lot more in the landscape here then I was expecting, using cyanotypes as a way of mapping my walks around the fjord, creating a sort of light diary through many small cyanotypes.

I found the Factory to be a great place to reconnect with old passions and to experiment without judgement, I’ve really loved using ceramics again as well as learning how to make watercolour paint… something I will definitely use within my practice moving forward. My stay here will no doubt be infused within my practice for years to come. Until next time!

Thanks Josie- it’s been a pleasure having you on the residency. We’re excited to see where life takes you and your practice next and look forward to welcoming you back in the future!

Patricia Huguesm is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Mexico City. Her practice is mainly focused on fashion and textile projects but during her time at the Fish Factory took an exciting detour into ceramics.

You can find more of Patricia’s work on her Instagram.

“I had a lot of little ideas for my time in Fish Factory but my main goal was to distance myself from the everyday tasks I encounter as a graphic designer. I wanted to create without judgement or a deadline.

I was looking for a welcoming space where I could work with like-minded people. I ended up letting myself be guided by the opportunities the studios (and Una) provided. I had always wanted to have a go with ceramics and enjoyed every minute I spent trying to make my illustrations come alive in a different way than animation or textiles enable.

I spent my mornings up in the mountains picking berries and my afternoons at the Factory. Time flew by and I will definitely try to come back to this little gem of a place.”

Thank you Patricia, it was wonderful having you and we’d love to see you back in our ceramic studio any time! See you again!

Makenna Hatter is a visual artist from Austin, Texas. She is a recent graduate of Texas State University, with a passion for connecting with people through paint, printmaking and drawing. During her time at the Fish Factory she focused predominantly on painting and worked both with the local community as well as engaging with the surrounding landscape and our Tumi!

You can find more of Makenna’s work on her website and Instagram.

“My initial intention for my residency was to create portraits of the residents of Stöðvarfjörður. After completing my first painting, (a double-portrait of a couple in their home) I shifted to painting landscapes. I realized that painting the landscape here would provide me with different opportunities to try new compositions and techniques. One of my goals for this residency was to try new things, and because I normally paint the figure, I realized that landscapes would be a great opportunity to really step outside my comfort zone.

Thank you so much Makenna, we loved having you! Until next time.