20.-21.7.12
Vardø, Norway
Initiator and project artist Pøbel, produced by Nordnorsk Kultursenter and the inhabitants of the town
Visiting artists: Pøbel (NO), Horfe (FR), Remed (FR), Ken Sortais (FR), Ethos (BR), Roa (BE), Vhils (PO), E.B Itso (DK), Tristan Manco (UK), Stephen Powers (USA), Atle Østrem (NO), Husk Mit Navn (DK), Conor Harrington (IE)
Relational art / street art
Stephen Powers aka Espo seems to have been as impressed by the town as I was. He seems to have had fun with playing with words, making the works fit well in.
Eternal Light and/or Eternal Night
Many of the visitors had problems sleeping at night because it never got dark due to the midnight sun. And imagining how it is when it never gets light in the winter, it is amazing how exotic it is. Thus the piece "Eternal Light and/or Eternal Night" fits well on the long storage building. A fishing boat was needed to be able to get to the wall, and it is pictured on the piece.
Cod is Great
We were told that Stephen Powers planned to write "In God we trust" on this wall, but after talking to fisherman Aksel he changed his mind, as Aksel said "Here we believe in cod". What a great play with words. The building is situated just inside the pier, on the most sheltered places, and thus most popular spot to keep the boats. The building is offering both work space and lodging for the fishermen.
The birds are everywhere in Vardø, keeping you awake at night if you do not close the window. Seagulls are becoming the new tourist attraction of the area, and they are by far outnumbering the human inhabitants of the island. They do not care if the building is inhabited or not, as long as they can sit on the roof to take a rest from the flight.
