Three times Arctic archaeology

Three times Arctic archaeology is an extensive video performance. The work lasts 36 minutes, consists of three distinct chapters, and is narrated by four performers. It investigates the production of meaning in the field of archaeology, specifically focussing on maritime archaeology and the history of Arctic exploration. Historic text of explorers such as William Edward Parry, Jan Huygen van Linschoten, and an unknown author (from the Journal of the Chirikov’s Vessel) are juxtaposed to contemporary imagery of archaeological research, creating a range of imaginative associations and exploring visual variations.

Directed by Stijn Verhoeff
Video with live narration
36 minutes
2011

First performed in 2009 by Karl Larsson, Theo Cowley and Pieter Paul Pothoven at the Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht. Two years later Three times Arctic archaeology was extended and performed by Mattia Bier, Tim, Oliver Walker and Lindsay Lawson at the Reading Room at Fabrik am Flutgraben, Berlin.

Three times Arctic archaeology is supplementary to the exhibition We are now, officially, lost and the book Lapon d'une Renne, Voyages into the Arctic Regions.

Script

Mattia Bier at Fabrik am Flutgraben

We are now, officially, lost

Lapon d'une Renne, Voyages into the Arctic Regions