2021, performance, Skagaströnd, Iceland

Sjaldan er ein báran stök is a performative exercise in futility and ritual. During my time at the Nes Artist Residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland, I researched the relationship between Icelanders and lupin - brought in years ago from North America to stymy soil erosion from the deforestation of early settlement. Lupin, beautiful and loved by tourists, has become an aggressive invader overtaking native species and changing the country’s surreal landscapes. With this work, I explore the parallels between this complex ecological situation and Iceland’s tourism industry - another example of a foreign invader growing out of control and changing the country. As one of those tourist invaders, I partnered with the local lupin eradication effort and used this dissecting performance to prompt interaction and feedback from locals.