ELDUR Á HIMNI | FIRE IN THE SKY

ELDUR Á HIMNI – FIRE IN THE SKY is the creative product of Boris Schaarschmidt’s three-month stint in the filmmakers’ program THE WEIGHT OF MOUNTAINS at NES Artists’ residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland. Only for a few months during the darkness of winter, the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are visible during cloudless nights. Camping out in the remoteness of Northern Iceland night after night, Boris captured the fascinating spectacle in the sky and documented the magical dance of the Northern Lights in stunning photographs as well as in a mesmerizing video installation.

“To see the Aurora Borealis was always on my bucket list. A little disappointed at first, I realized that most pictures we see of the Aurora Borealis are deceiving and that its true beauty is revealed only in long time exposure. After my first captures, I was drawn to it and the results of my sleepless nights can be seen in my film and photographic work ELDUR Á HIMNI.” - Boris Schaarschmidt

The photographs and video installation were on display at Villa Aurora in Los Angeles in 2014 and the film was screened in multiple festivals.

Boris Schaarschmidt is a German-born, internationally acclaimed filmmaker and professor of Film and Television. Throughout his career, has been drawn to remote, cold, and seemingly inhospitable places. He extensively worked in Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Lapland. Places where nature reveals both its stark beauty and profound vulnerability fascinate him and inspire his art.

If you like to see these images in motion, please watch this short film that was created over the course of three months during the artist residency.