Who are the whales that visit the Icelandic seas each summer?

How differently has human respect for whales been manifest – historically and now?

Such questions have long fascinated artists Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson, whose work explores the intricate and environmentally telling relationships between humans and other animals. In their latest project, the exhibition The Sea’s Blue Yonder, the duo has embarked on a journey to track and consider the movements of individual whales both physically, accompanied by scientists who study the migration, trajectories, and acoustics of these marine giants – and culturally, in terms of ever-shifting, environmentally-inflected human values. The artists have examined the history of cetacean strandings, both in Iceland and abroad, and delved into archival and archaeological remains, as well as the history of industrial whaling in Seyðisfjörður. The whaling station at Vestdalseyri, for example, is considered to have been one of the first mechanized whaling stations in the world, marking the beginning of industrial whaling in Iceland. The exhibition invites viewers to consider the physical presence of whales in their natural environment and to review the delicate balance between humans, other animals, and our shared habitat. By exploring these contact zones from an ethical and aesthetic point of view, the exhibition opens up new perspectives on the conservation debate around Iceland’s coast.