Holuhraun
Destruction or Creation?
"Beginnings are apt to be shadowy..."
Rachel Carson.
Rachel Carson.
On August 16th 2014 a series of 1600 earthquakes began in the Baroarbunga volcano, Iceland. Magma was channelling its way underground, creating a 31 mile long intrusive dike. This ended in the already existing Holuhraun lava field, to the north of the Vatnajokull glacier. After a minor eruption on 29th August, a mile long fissure opened up two days later, spewing 1,175 C hot lava from three craters. The eruption continued for 181, days finally coming to an end on 27th February 2015.
The Holuhraun eruption is the largest and hottest eruption since the Laki eruption in 1783 -1784. Holuhraun emitted 4,900 cubic feet of lava, covering an area of 33 square miles (for a comparison the island of Manhattan measures 22.78 square miles). The crater measured 229 feet deep, 328 feet wide and 2132 feet long, with an average thickness of 30 - 45 feet. It measured 131 feet thick at its highest points.
This work is a response to the primal forces of nature. It consists of 181 individually painted pages, signed and dated for each day the volcano erupted producing 'new land'. It raises a question - Destruction or Creation? In reality it is neither but both. The pages are contained within an exploding box structure where the sides collapse as the lid is removed.
The Holuhraun eruption is the largest and hottest eruption since the Laki eruption in 1783 -1784. Holuhraun emitted 4,900 cubic feet of lava, covering an area of 33 square miles (for a comparison the island of Manhattan measures 22.78 square miles). The crater measured 229 feet deep, 328 feet wide and 2132 feet long, with an average thickness of 30 - 45 feet. It measured 131 feet thick at its highest points.
This work is a response to the primal forces of nature. It consists of 181 individually painted pages, signed and dated for each day the volcano erupted producing 'new land'. It raises a question - Destruction or Creation? In reality it is neither but both. The pages are contained within an exploding box structure where the sides collapse as the lid is removed.
