Shiloh Sukkau 2010/2011

Last winter I had the opportunity to attend the NES Residency in Skagaströnd Iceland with a friend. As well as wanting to dedicate some time to my work I had always wanted to visit another northern country. We chose to go in the winter months for a number of reasons and were happy with our decision. We both come from the west coast of Canada and rather than be in denial of the winter season and travel south, we wanted to try something different, a kind of embracement. Iceland is amazing in the winter because everyone is so well adapted to the climate and I don’t remember anyone ever complaining. The landscape was a constant source of beauty, always shifting in light and colours and never felt the same from one hour to the next. The only thing I was worried about was how dark it was going to be but at the same time it only added to its almost exotic appeal. In reality the length of the days was more novel than anything, when the sun was up it poured in our windows, in the nights we were visited by aurora borealis and did a lot of reading. The studios were so close that we just walked through the snow, drinking tea to warm up. Although I have heard about Icelandic summers and the never ending days, three quiet winter months were exactly the kind of time that I needed to spend on my practice.