Elizabeth Bourne
Artist Statement
I have two homes. Seattle and Svalbard. I was in Seattle when corona exploded, and I dropped everything to reach Norway mere hours before the border closed. Then I spent two weeks in isolation on a farm, neither home nor home. Not knowing if I would be allowed to continue to Svalbard. Afraid for my family and friends. Afraid I would never get home again. To either home. I felt like a small ship on a large and stormy sea. These are the photos of my exile. I know I was lucky.
Artist Bio
After living most of my adult life in the Pacific Northwest, I was invited to photograph Greenland in 2017 and my life changed completely. I caught the “arctic disease.” In 2018 I had an artist residency in Svalbard. In 2019 I packed seven suitcases, and moved to the world’s northernmost town of Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Svalbard is international territory under Norwegian sovereignty. In 2019 I was honored to receive the Vision Excellence Award from the Miami Photography Center during Art Basel Miami for my series “Svalbard: Land without Borders” This is an ongoing project.
Pricing
$250 each
