Beyond the end

The project originated from an invitation by Bo Albrechtsen, then director of the Upernavik Museum, to work in Greenland. Albrechtsen introduced the vital connection to Aqqaluk Heilmann, a local Inuit whose profound understanding of the landscape and traditional maritime heritage became the backbone of the work.

The initial expedition into the remote Upernavik Fjord was a minimalist undertaking; a single boat carrying only Heilmann, Albrechtsen, and the artist on a four-hour journey to reach the shifting ice fields. For the second expedition, the operational scope expanded, bringing Lars Kristiansen and Aron Aalos Geisler into the core team.

To synchronize with the region’s brief peak temperatures—averaging around 0 degrees Celsius—the fieldwork was executed during the month of July. Over a six-week period living in Upernavik, the creative process adapted completely to the local rhythms. Much of the time was defined by a patient waiting for Aqqaluk’s availability, balancing his shifts at the village store with his vital community role teaching traditional kayaking and ancestral navigation to the younger generations. This waiting period became an intrinsic part of the research, aligning the project’s pacing with the actual social and environmental realities of the Arctic.