Gautier
Deblonde
Arctic - Svalbard, 2003-2006
The archipelago was discovered
in July 1596 by a Dutch traveler William Barents who was searching
for a north way to China. He thought the islands were a part of Greenland
and he called them with the name of Spitsbergen (which means ‘pointed
mountains’). Today Spitsbergen (at least since Norway acquired
the rights to own it) is called Svalbard (‘cold coast’).
“Thanks to a certain commission I made my first trip to these
islands 3 years ago. I only knew their name and it would have definitely
been difficult for me to place this archipelago on the map, 800 km
from the North Pole. When I first saw this landscape I was enormously
surprised. Travelling around different continents leaves a feeling
of being lost. But to find oneself at Svalbard is like travelling
to another dimension. You quickly lose any sense of space and time:
day lasts 6 months non-stop and complete night – 4 months. At
some stage determining the time or even date becomes very difficult.
Surely the light makes Svalbard unique. It may shine in a clear, bright
way and after a while change into something dark, dispersed and uncertain.
Light interacts with the monochromatic Svalbard landscape offering
a colour palette that was limited and rich at the same time. From
one picture to another I had a stronger and stronger feeling that
I’d have to start everything from the beginning.
It was like a call.
If that first travel let me discover a world which existence I hadn’t
known of, then I had to go back there. I made it 5 times in 3 years.
That is where I met diverse communities, like for instance in Barentsburg,
a Russian mining town existing since 1932, the last one in Arctic.
In the peak time it had 1500 inhabitants. Since there a melancholy
of sorts conquered it and during my trip in March 2005 there were
only 600 inhabitants left. That summer, because of the depletion of
coal deposits, the number of dwellers again decreased by half. The
only school got closed. The Barentsburg days come to and end.
In October 2006 I found myself in Ny-Alesund. Formerly a mining town,
today it is an important research centre: in the winter 30 scientists
live there, and 100 in the summer. They all measure and describe climatic
and atmospheric changes, observe fauna and flora as well as sea life.
The results are still unsatisfactory...
Like Barentsburg, Svalbard’s days may come to an end too. Those
lands – hard, but at the same time very vulnerable are victims
of the climate warming: they are unmercifully changing. American essayist,
Gretel Ehrlich calls them “The Vanishing Landscapes”
Gautier Deblonde was born in Rouen; he is a photographer living in
London since 1991. His series of portraits of artists was published
by Tate Gallery in 1999.
He was working with the Australian sculptor, Ron Mueck (exhibited
in 2005 by the Cartier Foundation) in creating the series “Boy”.
This series was exhibited by the Anthony d’Offay gallery on
the occasion of the Biennale in Venice and won the World Press Photo
first prize in the “art/reports” category in 2001.
In 2002 Deblonde collaborated with the Scottish director Lynne Ramsay
in a film “Morvern Callar” and published a book of the
same title.
His photographs were presented at the National Portrait Gallery, Tate
Britain, Tom Blau Gallery, La Chambre Claire.
He is an author of portraits and his works are published in international
press.
He now works on two book projects, on Arctic and about an artists’
studio. He lives between London and Lille.
Exhibition place :
Polska 30 (ul. Polska 30, Gdynia)
August 20th – September 20th; Wed.-Sun. 11-19
opening August 19th 17.00
