Valerie Gleeson Development Bursary
Rachel Doolin
In August 2017 I undertook a research residency at Galleri Svalbard in Longyearbyen. I was selected by the gallery to take part in their 2017 residency program. Galleri Svalbard is an art institution based on the remote archipelago of Svalbard located in the Arctic Circle, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Svalbard has become a significant site of interest to my current research, which is concerned with tensions between industry, growth and ecology.
Historically, Svalbard was considered ‘no mans land’ however, in the early 20th century Norway was granted sovereignty over the islands with a precondition that allowed all signatory nations unrestricted rights to natural resource exploitation. As a result of this entitlement and for a long period thereafter, the establishment of foreign mining communities across the island made coal mining the dominant commercial industry supporting the economy of Svalbard. In recent years there has been a substantial reduction in coal mining operations. The controversial issue of resource extraction from the arctic has sparked global debate and attitudes towards the value of the landscape are slowly shifting perspective. Svalbard is now home to many international facilities for science and research, it’s geographical situation offering insight into Anthropocene realities.
The residency was a unique, thought provoking and awe inspiring experience from which I can now develop my ideas further. My main objective was to expand my ideas into new territories in order to ground my practice in experiential research. The primary research that I gathered during the residency has been fundamental to my current conceptualisation of a new body of work. During this time I was able to access remote locations and experience both the monumentality and fragility of a sublime landscape.
During the residency I utilised the library resources at the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromso, I visited the Polaria, The polar museum and Visual Arts Centre of Northern Norway. I spent time researching the historical collection of 17th, 18th and 19th century books and maps at Galleri Svalbard. I visited the Wahlenburg Glacier, the abandoned Russian mining town of Pyramiden, The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Svea Glacier and Borabukta bay. I hiked across the Nordenskiold Glacier and went on an overnight trip to Esmark glacier, a 15km active glacier that debouches into the bay Ymerbukta. Here I was able to spend several undisturbed hours with an armed guide on the glacial moraine exploring, filming, photographing and encountering from a close distance the intense sounds and visually spectacular glacial movements. I also joined the local library of Longyearbyen to gain further access to research concerning the mining history of Svalbard. I explored the Svalbard Historical Museum collection and the Kunsthall Art Museum. In addition I spent extensive time documenting and exploring the abandoned mines and cultural remains in the surrounding area of Longyearbyen.
The residency was incredibly inspiring and insightful, I am currently still processing the whole experience and trying to filter and focus my thoughts as there are several related research strands that could be explored in depth from this one experience. I gathered a substantial amount of digital research (photography & video) during the residency. Although I have not worked in video before, I have recently submitted a funding application to the city council in order to seek mentorship and acquire the skills necessary to creatively edit the footage.
This was my first time undertaking an international residency, which I believe has been fundamental to expanding my research methodology. It has further focused the direction of my work informed by experiential knowledge and the gathering of primary resources. I feel I can now visualize my practice taking a new direction, in which I will undertake the production of a cohesive body of work based on the above experiences. Ultimately the residency has been greatly beneficial to the development of my independent practice. I feel it was important to visit this specific location in order to develop meaningful work relating to temporality and the role of carbon resources in the cyclical nature of life and their current impact on climate change.
This residency was funded by: MTU Valerie Gleeson Development Bursary and The Arts Council of Ireland Travel and Training Award.