Bringing vast ideas of global climate change, ice core science, and geologic time to a human scale, Collective Memory was a participatory project with visiting artist Hannah Perrine Mode, International Arctic Science Committee, and the city of Akureyri.
While in residence with IASC for two weeks in November and December, Hannah 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. Hannah 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, Hannah held bi-weekly office hours at IASC, and gave a public talk at the University of Akureyri, discussing her work as an artist and educator collaborating with scientists. She also led a memory-drawing workshop for teenagers at the local community center. In collaboration with IASC, Hannah is currently working on creating a set of printed postcards, each pairing the melt painting with its memory, to be printed and distributed for free back to the Akureyri community.
Hannah will be continuing this project in the future in similar formats, including an upcoming project with the NIAD Art Center in Richmond, CA in February.
More Information:
www.hannahpmode.com/iasc
Link to Hannah Perrine Mode’s public talk at the University of Akureyri