Welcome to the opening of ACT I: THE WHEELHOUSE on April 8th, 16:00—18:00; a site-specific, multi-channel video installation designed for Nýlistasafnið’s Limbo project space by Nickie Sigurdsson and Kristina Stallvik. Interested in the activation of collective memory, Stallvik and Sigurdsson’s current research investigates the capacity of subjective, sensorial ‘data’ to trace the relationships between Icelandic fishing communities, non-human agents, and the conditions of our contemporary extractivist paradigm.

In correlation with the museum’s critical location – the Marshall House at Reykjavik’s Old Harbor – ACT I is composed of found objects from the marina and publicly accessible live footage captured by the Faxaflóahafnir Associated Icelandic Ports’ webcams. Through collective writing practice, the installation invites visitors to participate in a retelling of the quasi-events engendered by a fundamental change in national fishing legislation.

Visitors of ACT I are summoned to reflect on these histories through a response to the material and cyborg ‘memories’ presented in the Limbó space. Following a series of prompts, the artists kindly welcome scribbles, mark making, doodles, images, text, letters, colors, impressions... drawing from participants' own proximity to fishing cultures or engaging in a more speculative process of imagination. How might Reykjavik harbor have smelled in the 80's? What does a fishing boat witness over the course of its daily routine?

With emphasis on processual work and experiments Limbó is conceived as an evolving platform for works in progress, performances, installations, discursive events, public readings, research presentations and various short-term projects seeking public encounters.

Support for ACT I is provided in part by the Office for Contemporary Art Norway.