The Boat

Four years ago I got a powerful photo on my mind. I wanted to row a wooden boat in front of a glacier while the boat was burning. Six months later I found an old, traditional wooden boat which had been laying on land for more than 40 years. After restoring it I brought it into the Arctic wilderness. I pushed the boat through the vaste, white landscapes until I could not do it anymore. I rowed the boat through dark cold water, and drifting ice. In October 2020 I brought the boat with me to the Esmark glacier where I filled half of the boat with wood. When out on the sea in front of the glacier I lit fire to the boat and rowed the burning boat in front of the glacier. The only person present, assisting me with the documentation, was Sarah Gerats.

Stein Henningsen (NO)
Stein Henningsen is a performance artist living in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Since 2005 he has presented his work at various biennials, festivals and events in Scandinavia, Europe, North America and Asia. Henningsen is influenced by photography as traditional media, often thinking of his performances as visual poetry. His work addresses political, social, financial and climate issues in a contemporary context. Henninngsen´s goal is to create is to create provocative images that resonate with the audience over time. Recent works have focused on climate change and the challenges we face, and as he actually lives in the Arctic he is all too aware of the reality of those challenges. Henningsen is the founder of the Arctic Action International Performance Art Festival, founded in 2015, inviting performance artists from Scandinavia and elsewhere, to create outdoor works inspired by the Arctic landscape.