Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.05.2015, Page 42

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When photographer Anna Domnick first experienced Icelandic nature in 2012 on a working
trip, she said she was awestruck by what she saw: magnificent untouched open spaces that
have been preserved due to Iceland’s conservation laws. Anna explains over the phone from
Berlin how she threw herself into research on the subject when she got back home to Ger-
many, only to find herself dismayed when she discovered how much land had already been
irreversibly damaged. Instead of writing angry opinion pieces or joining the ranks of envi-
ronmental activists like Saving Iceland, Anna returned to Iceland the following year and set
out on a mission of her own, to take part in the discussion through her project, ‘rísa’ (“rise”).
ART
PHOTOGRAPHY
Þjórsárver:
Disappearing From View
Runs until May 10 Reykjavíkrísa
Words Gabríel Benjamin
Photo Anna Domnick
Paradise on a fast track to
getting lost
Iceland is blessed with an abundance
of renewable energy sources, namely
hydro- and geothermal energy. Har-
nessing this energy, however, often
grievously damages the local ecosys-
tem that has established itself over
the past few centuries. To balance the
economic benefits of energy harness-
ing with the protection of nature, the
State established Rammaáætlun, or
“The Icelandic Master Plan for con-
servation of nature and utilization of
energy,” which details which areas are
and aren’t viable for damming. Since its
creation in 1999, the Master Plan has
been periodically updated, notably in-
creasing protection for more vulnera-
ble locations in 2013, only to have some
of those recent changes reversed by the
new centre-right government, much to
the ire of environmentalists.
Anna’s project ‘rísa’ focuses on the
Þjórsárver wetlands, a 140-square-kilo-
metre area in the centre of Iceland that
is on the conservation list but encom-
passes parts now listed as dammable.
According to the Environment Agency
of Iceland, it is breeding ground to nu-
merous kinds of birds and home to 167
types of highland plants, and 244 insect
and arachnid species. Yet for all of its
biodiversity, the area is mostly inacces-
sible to humans, leaving it a distant idea
in the minds of the vast majority of Ice-
landers. Anna set out to change that.
Fanning the winds of
change
Ad campaigns to protect the highlands
seem to lean heavily on consumer-
friendly photo and video media focus-
ing on green fields getting flooded and
vulnerable creatures displaced. But
with ‘rísa’, Anna instead presents im-
ages of snow-capped peaks and white
landscapes, which more accurately
portray what the wetlands look like for
the majority of the year.
The images are faint, with only a
few specks of shrubbery, sand and black
rocks visible to differentiate the snowy
ground from the grey skies. Anna says
this calmness is intentional, that “the
photographs emphasize Þjórsárver’s
vastness and highlight its fragility. It
is both about the virtue of this natural
spot for mankind, and the virtue of the
pristine nature in itself.”
The conceptual installation is pre-
sented on five billboards spread out
over the central Reykjavík area, each
five by four metres large, mounted on
wooden frames. The photographs are
purposefully presented without any
description or title, thus provoking the
viewer into investigating what the im-
ages signify, hopefully leading to them
finding out exactly how vulnerable
Þjórsárver is to human interference.
The pieces were unveiled one after
the other over a period of eight days
and will remain visible until May 10.
Although Anna stresses that ‘rísa’ was
not commissioned by any agency or
part of an environmental campaign,
she did get financial support from the
Iceland Nature Conservation Associa-
tion, which allowed the installation to
be fully realised.
--
You can find Anna Domnick’s pho-
tographs displayed at the following
locations: Skólavörðustígur 1a, Tryg-
gvagata 11, Hverfisgata 59, Selja-
vegur 32 and Grettisgata 3