„Rise“ – a conceptual non permanent sculpture by FFF located far out in the fjord of Seyðisfjörður, Iceland.
The sculpture is made of local drift wood, volcanic stones and gouache paint. It is acting as a reminder to the rise of the ocean – measuring the sea level like a clock hand. Watching the water-soluble paint being washed away slowly wave by wave inspires to think about the future. A local installation that rises awareness towards the global climate crisis and rising sea levels.
A performance with no spectators but the raw nature
– FFF
ARTIST STATEMENT
My intuition took me out further than usual on this hike. In the ice covered landscape consisting of just black stones and cold water – this piece of drift wood took all my attention. I recovered it from the steep shore and brought it back to the studio. I imagined the stories it could tell. Stories about it’s origin and the ocean. Stories of change. I applied the blue paint on the washed out wood and it instantly formed this organic connection of materials. But something felt wrong with it being on display at my studio. The object longed to be out in wild where it came from.
Arriving at the destination with the sculpture I soon found myself standing in the ice cold ocean. The stones on shore were covered with a thick ice sheet so I had to search for proper stones in the water with improvised water and cold protection on my legs and hands. The process of finding the right stones while constantly being overswept by waves and ice cold winds tearing on my willpower almost made me give up the whole endeavor – but in the end revealed to me another perspective onto this installation.
Out in a remote part of a remote fjord on Iceland in a race against time all by myself I redefined the artistic outcome towards the process of setting up as a performance art piece – a performance with no spectators but the raw nature.
Once errected I sat to watch the dance of nature around the sculpture. Sturdy it stood against the waves. Little by little they started wetting and eating the water soluble paint. Meditating over oceans movements and power my mind took on a journey through time. Imaging that in a not so far away future only a tiny tip of that sculpture could be visible – telling a story of a past where many shores of our planet were still inhabitable.
Fabian F. Fuchs
