Ars Bioarctica

The first week out of my two weeks here has almost passed and I'm starting to regret I didn't apply for a longer period. I've spent most of my time collecting different things: mosquitos, seashells and polypores - the latter are for a biology course I'm undertaking in university, as I am not only an artist but also a biology student. Mosquitos and landscapes are the main reason why I'm here, but so far I've caught surprisingly few mosquitos. I'm not going to complain about that, though, since for once outdoor activities don't feel like a torture which is usually the case in Lapland during summer months. The mosquitos that try to bite me (or at least the ones that don't escape) will end up into my private insect collection and multiple exposure photographs. Both of these will be a part of a larger project that involves using many different insect species.

The weather has been nice apart from a few rainy days, but I am still waiting for the "perfect" photography light. Unlike in the coastal Norway the weather doesn't change so often here, so I wonder if my time will run out. I'm thinking of doing a few day excursion to Norway as a precaution, as I believe I'll have better luck there. The other resident of the house (Tom) and I already did a short day trip to Norway. First we drove to Skibotn for a seashore walk and lunch and then circled a nature trail in Lulledalen. The trail was quite lovely with variable habitats and and a clear-watered river. Many endangered orchid species can be found in Lulledalen because of high calcium level of the soil, but unfortunately someone had cut the flower stems from all Lady's Slippers that were located along the path. Who does that?

I collected seashells from the beach in Skibotn for some photo experiments. The stairway in Kiekula has a nicely even light, so I photographed the shells there.

It's been nice to sit by the living room table in Kiekula because swallows nest right above the window.

My room is upstairs and the view from there is also pretty. The sun will set tomorrow for the first time in two months, but it's still so light that I find sleeping a bit difficult.

Today it seemed as if there would be thunder, but eventually it didn't even rain. The maintenance person from the biological station told me about a boy who got hit by lightning at the top of Saanatunturi last year. He survived, but had to be flown to a hospital in a helicopter. Apparently this area gets thunder very rarely.