GRÍMSEY is an island 50km off the north coast of Iceland, the only place where the Arctic Circle makes landfall in Iceland.
THE WORK is a basalt sphere, 3m in diameter, located on the Arctic Circle, wherever that may be at any given time. According to calculation it’s location shifts, on average, 14.5m annually due to the earth’s axial tilt and is now at 66° 33.9′ N. Each spring the sphere is rolled to the corrected latitude in a generally northward direction until 2047 when the Arctic Circle will no longer cross the island. The movement of the Arctic Circle is either northwards or southwards depending on the fluctuations of the axial tilt cycle and that results in a laboriously slow procession. Presently the movement is southwards and this will continue for the next decade whence it will turn northwards until it reaches the northernmost promontory of the island. The sphere will be held at this point while the arctic circle takes a brief jaunt over the sea and moved south again on it’s return. The following turn to north is it’s last for 20,000 years (see diagram).
THE SPHERE only indicates the latitude of the Arctic Circle. Anyone who walks around it travels north of the circle and back again and one can imagine an annual celebration when the inhabitants of the island, their guests, and all necessary tools and tractors will work together to correct the position of the sphere. Their efforts will be recorded as a driftwood path that traces the trajectory of the sphere and ensures that everyone can make the journey to the northern end of the island. Eventually only the path will remain as a record that the artic circle once crossed the island.
THE TRACK from the village will be incorporated as a part of the work and will together with the new driftwood path indicate the movement of the Arctic Circle over the island. The sphere is 2.5km from the airport and 3.7km from the village and harbour where the Arctic Circle crossed the island in 1810. The track and path are collectively the story of two centuries, each registered with driftwood markers, and extend the area of interest of the arctic Circle beyond one finite point to encompass the beauty of the entire island and its spectacular, pristine, setting.
INFORMATION about the Arctic Circle will be displayed at the airport and at selected places along the path. Scientific facts about the circle, the movement of the earth, astronomy, the history of Grímsey, it’s nature and location will inform and entertain visitors and islanders alike.
