“The Waters of an Icelandic Whale Fjord” the wonders of staying near a whale fjord in a remote region of Iceland
The Waters of an Icelandic Whale Fjord
In this fjord, the water is glacier water. It passes through porous basalt, through layers of volcanic rock and lava fields; volcanic fire, ash, stone compressed and purified over thousands of years. It is clean as clean can be, clean from pollutants and sediment, clean from bad karma, that of harming the fish, or the sea grass the horses chew and roll in, that the plovers nest in.
Here, as the glaciers melt, the water becomes enriched with iodine, magnesium, calcium, potassium, silica, trace elements from volcanic rock, and seawater. This helps skin and bones stay strong. It feeds the plankton and other microorganisms, and so in turn the entire food chain, all over the entire Earth. The volcanic mountains along the fjord have low-lying clouds and also high elevation, which causes the rising air to cool rapidly, and water vapor to form mist. So mountains may appear and disappear several times in any day, sometimes hovering as ghosts might, the Arctic air spooning around it. Traveler beware, the currents are humming, the wind is churning, reminding me of someone that appears here and there, that I keep as an ashen stone in my pocket, a torrent behind my ear: the one that moved me steadily between the clouds and the mountains, a line of light brightening gold till the rocks are loose, till they tumble into the sea, the fire still lit inside them.
Miah Artola • she/her • New York, NY
Miah Artola is a New York–based interdisciplinary artist whose work combines painting and new media into interactive and multi-platform works. She recently completed “…and also with you”, a trans-media project on asylum seekers, which received NYFA funding. She has exhibited widely, including at MoMA/PS1, Experimental Intermedia, Harvestworks, and Pioneer Works.
