Into the Valley in Late Autumn

The exhibition Into the Valley in Late Autumn is made up of large watercolours painted in the past two years; artist Sigtryggur Bjarni Baldvinsson focusses on the natural environment in Héðisfjörður, north Iceland, in late autumn. Over the past 17 years, Sigtryggur’s art has increasingly been inspired by Héðinsfjörður, an uninhabited fjord between Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður, where the artist has been documenting nature through the act of painting.

The flora of the fjord reflects the equilibrium that subsists in largely untouched terrain; the area documented by the artist has been uninhabited for more than a century. Since he started to work in the region he has observed fluctuations in weather, flora and fauna in Héðinsfjörður. Fish migration has become unpredictable, and repeated heavy rainstorms in midsummer have led to flooding, with landslides. The swelling of rivers erodes verdant land and rivers change their course, while fish migrating up rivers to spawn are swept back out to sea.

 Sigtryggur sees his work in Héðinsfjörður as an attempt to listen to nature and the news it offers, and to disseminate important messages. The artist has drawn attention to changes in the fjord’s ecosystem through exhibitions highlighting the peril that threatens the natural environment. The works in the exhibition Into the Valley in Late Autumn are the fruit of the artist’s work in Héðinsfjörður in the past two years, reflecting the local reality in a broader context – where a kind of autumn reigns, with a harsh winter ahead.