Fjord + Summit: Lofoten, Norway. On Foot.

Show Opening - Scott Rinckenberger Artist Statement:

When a dark quiet moment becomes imperative to replenish, you need that space. Space to pause the mind and ask for a moment of reflection. Especially in an environment where the stimulus is so strong, and the daylight is so perpetual. Shadows, shade and moments of darkness and simplicity are dire to reset.

I selected a route that would begin at the far western end of the Lofoten peninsula in the town of Sorvagen, Norway and linked trails and mountaineering routes in order to create a continuous human-powered thru-hike that covered the majority of the length of both Moskenesøya and Flakstadøya islands, photo-documenting along the way.

This was primarily a rugged hiking route, intermixed with some off-trail mountain travel, beautiful summit visits, white sand beaches and a bit of road walking. In the end it became a 62mi route which covered just over 17,700’ of elevation and was walked over the course of 6 days.

We cannot escape the grand.
The vast vistas where granite big walls lead the eye to white sand beaches with peeling turquoise waves, and yet beyond, fjords, alpine lakes, craggy alpine ridge lines. My only mechanism here was to shoot in panoramic style to capture some of the breadth of the landscapes, which had a surreal scope of environments within a single vista. Here, seeing the landscape in color feels almost mandatory. The juxtaposition of color across these broad fantasies is arresting beyond belief.

Then there is the microcosmic.
The individual fern leaves among an endless jungle of bright green growth. The streaks in a small granite crag among soaring peaks of stone. The flowing grains of sand on a beach that seems to go on forever. These, too, offset the overwhelming. This attention to the details helps the mind to create the pieces to the puzzle that result in a total understanding of a landscape. A process that never really completes itself.

There was a temptation to not share of the darker images in this collection for fear of creating a heavy aesthetic. But, as I discovered in Norway, these dark quiet moments are special, and necessary fuel for the long days and longer mission.

Come join us for the show opening July 18th at 4-9pm.