Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.06.2015, Qupperneq 32

32 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 7 — 2015ART
After helping to serve breakfast to the
hotel’s guests, he walks out into the light
summer rain, past the rusting hull of a de-
composing ship and over to the factory.
He opens the doors for the first time this
year and enters, looking around the dark,
cold space with fondness.
As well as being a waiter at the hotel,
Claus is also here to hang the third edi-
tion of his group photography exhibition
'STEYPA’ (or “Concrete,” in English). “The
last time I was here was the end of Au-
gust last year,” says the mild-mannered
German, in his clipped accent. “When I
first come inside, I kind of say hello to the
place again. I kind of whisper: ‘Hello, fac-
tory! how are you?'”
A good beginning
Claus first visited Djúpavík 12 years ago,
after reading about the place in a maga-
zine article entitled “The loneliest hotel
in the world is maybe in Iceland.” It more
than lived up to the moniker. Djúpavík
is an extremely remote place, located in
the sparsely populated area of Strandir,
down a long unpaved track that clings
to the dramatic fjord cliffside. Eva and
Ási, the couple who run the hotel, are
the only year-round residents, mean-
ing Djúpavík has an official permanent
population of two.
As luck would have it, that first week-
long trip coincided with Sigur Rós playing
a now-legendary free show in the dilapi-
dated factory as part of their ‘Heima’ tour.
A spell was cast: Claus was entranced
by the compelling, run-down charm of
Djúpavík. The experience would turn out
to be life-changing.
“This was the first place I came in Ice-
land,” he smiles. “There are some birds,
and when they hatch, the first thing they
see is what becomes their mother. There’s
some connection. Djúpavík is kind of like
that for me. My first experience of Iceland
was here. Somehow, arriving here always
feels like coming home. Everything is so
familiar.”
Claus knows the factory well, and runs
guided tours for curious holidaymakers.
This includes a permanent exhibit dedi-
cated to Djúpavík's industrial past, fea-
turing large-scale photographs of the
building teeming with workers—the men
fishing and maintaining the plant's pro-
cessing machines, and the women gut-
ting the fish and salting them in barrels.
STEYPA, by comparison, is more con-
nected to the factory's current state of
picturesque decay. The exhibition hap-
pens in a cavernous, airy hall so resolutely
grey that any dash of colour in the photo-
graphs on show seems to leap from the
paper, and continues in a light attic space
with mountain views on all sides.
"The only rule I have in curating the
exhibition is that the work is connected
to Iceland,” says Claus. “The first years I
searched for people to show, out of ne-
cessity, but this year several people asked
me about taking part in advance—people
who knew of Djúpavík, or had been here,
or had some interest in the hotel. The ex-
hibition is getting more popular, and peo-
ple are happy to join in." Claus pauses, his
eyes searching around the space. "After
all, it even gets written about in Grape-
vine," he smiles.
The postman photographer
When he’s not in Djúpavík, Claus works
as a postman in Reykjavík, a job in which
he feels comfortable. “I like it because
there’s nobody telling me how to do it,”
he says. “I can deliver the mail by walking,
by bike, by car—it doesn’t matter, as long
as the work is done. I can take breaks to
enjoy the scenery or get a coffee. I like to
be moving, and to be outside. It’s nice to
meet the people, have a small chat about
the weather or whatever, and then move
on, but still have this connection to life in
Iceland.”
As he walks his route, Claus docu-
ments the everyday life of the city. His
popular Facebook page, “Claus in Ice-
land,” features one new image every day.
“It’s the little things that I find interesting,”
Claus says. “Iceland isn’t just about blue
skies, waterfalls and sunsets. I think peo-
ple are interested in my pictures because
they’re not just the familiar Iceland shots.
There are a lot of books of those kinds
of pictures in the stores. And although
they’re good pictures and well-made, it
does get boring. On my page I show a dif-
ferent view, the daily view of those who
live here. It’s not all about geysers and
mountains here, it’s also about what it’s
like to wake up at 5am and go to work.”
Claus’s interests in Djúpavík and
photography combine in the STEYPA
exhibition. This summer will be the third
edition. "In 2009 I showed my own work
here,” he recalls. “Then in 2013, I had the
idea of having a group exhibition. There
were more people coming here, and more
friends of Djúpavík around, and one of
them asked me about maybe having an
exhibition here. After that I realised that
there’s a synergy in working with other
people, and that combining our powers
we could get more done. We were able
to get a booklet done this year, for ex-
ample. If it was nine individual photog-
raphy shows, it would be much harder
to organise."
Silence is golden
Djúpavík is a charming one-off place, and
the hotel picks up more and more trips
each year. But Claus’s connection to the
place is deeper. He thinks for a long time
when asked to verbalise the attraction.
“The hotel made a big first impression,”
he explains, slowly. “It’s so very cosy and
remote. In August of 2003, there were
fewer guests—now the hotel would be full
at that time. I was the only guest for three
or four nights. I liked that a lot.”
He pauses, looking around at the fac-
tory’s roughly textured walls and brick-
strewn floors. “And, I like the silence,”
Claus continues. “And the darkness—real
darkness, far away from light pollution. I
also like that you can see a long way. Even
when it’s cloudy, you can see the hori-
zon most of the time. Back in Germany,
the clouds are grey and heavy. Here’s it’s
very fresh, the view is always different. It’s
just me, when I’m here—nobody disturbs
me with noise or music. I like to be alone,
even though of course I also like to work
in the group at the hotel.”
So, for Claus, Djúpavík is both a re-
treat, and a home. The STEYPA exhibition
will be open all summer, with the door
left open to tempt curious passersby and
hotel guests in for a look. And with such
a motivated and passionate organiser, it
seems like an endeavour that will only
grow in the years come.
Claus Sterneck is celebrating his tenth summer in Djúpavík,
a minute coastal hamlet in a remote part of Iceland’s Westf-
jords. A former busy fishing village based around a dramatic
abandoned fish-processing factory, Djúpavík is also home to
a sole hotel, renovated from the old factory worker’s quarters
in 1985. Claus returns to work at the hotel each summer.
Words
John Rogers
Photos
John Rogers & Claus Sterneck
Inside
The Factory
For Claus Sterneck, the remote
post-industrial hamlet of Djúpavík
feels like home
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