A new project, After Hours at the Polestar Club, is currently in development, drawing on a research trip undertaken by Christine Watkins and artist Maria Hayes to the Swedish and Finnish Arctic in 2010. Under investigation was the idea of North, the Aurora Borealis and stories about the creation of the universe. We visited the Aurora Sky Station in Abisko, the Swedish Institute for Space Physics in Kiruna, the Museum of the Arctic (Arkitkkum) , Rovaniemi Arts Museum, Jokkmokk Museum and K&C Dance Company in Helsinki. Throughout the journey we had the opportunity to meet and talk to a range of scientists, artists and curators.
Christine continued this trip by following a lifelong line of enquiry and travelling on alone to the semi-autonomous Aaland Archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia. In the frozen waters the seeds for a related piece of work on Journey and Memory were briefly visible. This led initially to a seven week Artist Residency in the Archipelago at the end of 2011, and wil form part of a continuing performance research project, Juniper Ground.
More information about these two projects will appear on this site as they develop, so please keep visiting.
