Bringing ideas of global climate change, ice core science, and geologic time to a human scale, Collective Memory: Akureyri was a participatory project with the International Arctic Science Committee and the city of Akureyri, Iceland.
While in residence with IASC for two weeks in winter 2018, I set up a digital and written submission system in order to collect memories of local change from members of the Akureyri community. Stories ranged from recounting personal growth, to exploring family history, a relationship to the local environment, and the effects of climate change. When each participant shared their memory, they also chose a corresponding color to represent their story. I set up a dynamic installation in the lobby of the Borgir building, and used these colors to create unique paintings made by melting ice cores, hanging the paintings and displaying them with their corresponding stories.
As part of the project, I held bi-weekly office hours at IASC, and gave a public talk at the University of Akureyri, discussing my work as an artist and educator collaborating with scientists. I also led a memory-drawing workshop for teenagers at the local community center. In collaboration with IASC following the residency, I designed a set of printed postcards of the melt paintings, to be printed and distributed for free back to the Akureyri community.