Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.10.2019, Blaðsíða 17

“Everything is
connected. You
just can't take one
part out and think
that everything is
okay.”
In 2017, the National Planning
Agency assessed that the en-
vironmental impact from the
proposed plant would have
significant negative impact on
lakes, waterfalls, and wilder-
ness protected by the Nature
Conservation Act. Despite this,
development pressed ahead in
2019, though it stalled over the
summer due to multiple legal
complaints.
“Looking at all the places that
might be destroyed by different
power plants—mostly hydro-
power but also geothermal—I
was shocked,” Ólafur relates.
“People are shocked when they
find out what is still going on,
planning to build power plants
in some beautiful and remote
places. I have been working as
a tour guide and have also trav-
elled a lot myself, but a lot of
those places I just didn't know.”
Of a feather
In addition to the emphasis on
land protection, several pho-
tos in the exhibition champion
wildlife protection. Some of the
most striking photos are of en-
demic and migratory birds, a
few of which are on the Inter-
national Union for Conserva-
tion of Nature’s list as at-risk
species.
“What you have here in Ice-
land, you don't have in many
countries,” Ólafur explains.
“For example, the bird cliffs.
T here a re
fewer a nd
fewer sea-
birds—en-
dangered—
b e c a u s e
t h e r e i s
one sma l l
fish that is
rea l ly im-
portant for
these birds.
But they are lacking in the
ocean around Iceland, probably
because of global warming, so
there are problems feeding the
chicks.”
Ólafur encourages consider-
ation of how previous genera-
tions depended on wildlife. “In
the history of Iceland, people
travelled in late January and
February over the highlands to
fish in the southern and west-
ern parts of the country where
cod and other fish spawn.
People knew how to use the
rhythms of nature to survive.
With the hydro power plants
now, especially in the south, it's
pretty dangerous.”
The exhibition hinges on this
theme of environmental dis-
ruption. Ólafur urges, “Hydro
power plants can have very
bad influences on spawning
grounds because the different
fish species use flooding from
t h e m e l t -
w a t e r t o
spawn. But
n o w t h e
w a t e r i s
collected in
r e s e r v o i r s
to u se for
p r o d u c i n g
electricit y.
The rhythm
of nature is
destroyed. Everything is con-
nected. You just can't take one
part out and think that every-
thing is okay.”
Future Iceland
“This exhibition is only a small
start of a big project I have
been working on for years and
years and years now,” Ólafur
confides. “I am making four or
five feature length films, a lot
of short films, three or four big
exhibitions, and writing books.
What I will bring out soon is
a documentary that I made
about Kárahnjúkar. I went there
shortly before it was flooded.
In a way, it is the only chance
to show people what we have
lost.”
17The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 19— 2019
The march of the pu!ns
This exhibition is only a small part of a much larger project
The exhibition features 73 photographs of Icelandic wildlife and landscapes
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