Well… we are here – in Tromso! I’ve borrowed a laptop, which has a Norwegian keyboard and as I don*t understand all of the keys , I’ll do my best to give an update and correct typos later.
The journey here was really long! From getting the 7am train to Birmingham, changing to connect to London and then again to Gatwick, took us to Mid day. Our 2pm flight to Oslo was delayed due to heavy snow ( there – not in the UK! ) so we missed the connecting flight to Tromso.
They put us on a later flight, getting us to Tromso at Midnight – where Jet was waiting patiently outside to pick us up.
Our bags weighed a ton, through carrying heavier clothes and as much artwork and materials as would fit into the cases.
The snow has hardened to ice here and as I look out of the window at the building opposite, I can see huge icicles hanging from the guttering.
The gallery occupies half of a large building – I think there is an office on the other side. It is a typical Norwegian style – wooden and painted blue and white.
One of the rooms, which was previously rented out as office space, has been turned into our bedroom. With a small heater, it is quite cosy.
Yesterday – our first full day here – we got to grips with the log burner. Important things first!
The log burner is in the kitchen area – just a few steps down from the main gallery space, but the temperature drops by quite a few degrees if you walk from one space to another.
It was really hard to work in such a cold space yesterday.
We’d unpacked our artwork and spread it out, making the decisions between the 3 of us where it should go.
Apart from a quick walk down to the harbour to see what was in the immediate vicinity, we spent the majority of the day huddled by the fire threading my wings onto fishing wire…and later on, deciding to paint the gallery walls. ( they probably didn’t really need it – but it was important to us to create a good impression)
To suspend my wings in the centre of the gallery space, jet had to place a ladder on a stack of tables to reach the high ceiling. An unbelievably dangerous stunt, but to which I am truly grateful, as it sets the work off well in the space.
This morning was sunny, so we braved the ice AND a bus! .. to visit the Arctic Cathedral… a journey that took us off the island via a lengthy bridge. The cathedral was closed, but guessing we were English ( too many clothes and the wellies were a give away) one of the staff opened the doors, and speaking in English, beckoned us inside so that we could take photos.
Amazing place!
Back to small projects this afternoon, to finish hanging all our work…and here we are, patiently waiting for visitors to arrive tonight for the PV.
