Drawing the Lofoten
February 13
We traveled to Melbu on the ninth. It was quite a journey.. The bus that would stop in front of the Kunstkvarteret didn’t go, so we walked to Leknes. The cars who passed us drove through the wet snow on the road and it splashed all over our legs. At the busstation we asked the driver if the bus from Svolvaer to Fiskebøl was going, because a guy at the busstop told us that the road was blocked. The driver said that it was fine, and that yes, it was going. Later I heard him talk on the phone about this, but I couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying, but I figured he would tell us if there would be a problem. When we left the bus in Svolvaer he said: The bus to Fiskebøl isn’t going, you will have to take a taxi.
February 7
We planned to go to Vesterålen today, but the wind is too strong and we had to stay inside. It feels a bit like living in a spaceship, we are surrounded by a lot of outside space, but we have to stay inside until the storm calms down.
Dresscode
February 6
The residency is located on a hill approximately one kilometer outside Leknes. We didn’t rent a car yet, so we walk into town. There is no sidewalk, no bike lane, so cars and trucks rush by. We are struck by the fact that this country is so car oriented, at least in the winter.
Leknes, February 4, 2023
What will the people in the Lowlands (Netherlands and Belgium) do when large parts of the countries are flooded? This might be the case a couple of years from now. Chances are that they will want to move to the North. Eva Hilhorst and Judith Vanistendael are doing research in the Lofoten islands in Norway to see and to imagine how that could look like and which stories can be told around this theme. Judith is working on a fictional graphic novel and Eva is working on a non-fictional counterpart.
In the month of February, they stay at the Kunstkvarteret in Leknes on the Lofoten and work with the material and methodology they worked out during last year in Kendal, England en Melbu, Norway.
In this blog they will post their findings and their improving drawing skills on a regular basis.
