Heavens are made of ice

Arctic. A place where you come to face Man's fragility. A place that forces you to appreciate hidden corners of your existence that you not only didn't appreciate before but perhaps never even noticed. A place that turns ice and rock into transcendence.

Last year, I spent a full year in the Canadian Arctic, in the communities of Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake in Nunavut. The project is a result of an extended stay, combining film and photography with direct involvement, serving the local communities. Coming to such a place from Europe, exoticism is a trap that image-makers usually fall in, not even by their own fault - you document what seems interesting, unusual. It is almost unavoidable. Having this realisation upon arrival allowed me to shift focus to the subtle, seemingly invisible. Shapes, colours, textures, faces, emotions. My extended stay there helped me get close but also see from afar.

My interest in the Inuit comes from the contrast between their ancient way of life and Western culture. While outside influences are increasingly present — through technology, objects, and habits — older ways of living remain part of daily routines. This condition, especially visible among younger generations, formed the starting point of the project: a constant dialogue between what is inherited and what arrives from elsewhere.

The work is constructed as a series of diptychs. Each image consists of two photographs placed side by side, forming a codependence. Standing alone, these photographs wouldn't have provided a much needed space for interpretation and would lessen the possible narratives. The images do not explain one another; they give space for search of new meanings. It is as if the photographs encourage each other to become louder, standing on each other's shoulders, however that's possible.

The technique used was analog*, embracing the subtlety and a slower, physical process which in many ways still represents the way the Inuit live.

Above all, the experience was deeply personal. In this environment, you come face to face with your own insignificance. Life is reduced to what is necessary, reliance on others becomes unavoidable, not only physically, but also mentally. You need others. The place grounds you. A seemingly empty space full of nothing soon becomes permeated with unexplainable forces that in concrete jungles suffocate in artificial light and traffic noises. You hear silence. You see darkness. You feel your own thoughts.

*Analog images are scanned in low resolution (financially less heavy) and can be scanned in better quality for future purposes if needed.