Photo : Stefan Altenburger, © Artangel
Archived Glaciers at the Library of Water
In Stykkishólmur, on the coast of Breiðafjörður in Iceland, is Vatnasafn or “water museum,” a small library that moves and shifts. The objects archived there are not those that hold words, lines of poetry, or neat sentences that stitch together a narrative, but instead water. The water kept here is drawn from glaciers in Iceland and was created by the American artist Roni Horn. Horn has had a long and intimate involvement with Iceland through its geography, geology, climate, and culture. In 2007 the artist was invited by Artangel to create the installation Vatnasafn. It was their first international commission in the former library.
